Trump’s Economic Line & Minnesota Tactic Shift

What this episode is about

President Trump celebrates his administration's economic achievements during a rally in Iowa while allies pivot toward alternative trade deals, and the White House modifies its strategy in Minnesota, enhancing local collaboration amid ongoing unrest. Additionally, Senate Democrats are blocking a budget bill over Homeland Security funding, raising concerns about a potential government shutdown.

Key takeaways

• Trump's economic optimism is like a stock market bubble—spectacular until reality crashes the party.
• As Trump hails economic growth, EU allies are quietly searching for trade deals like they’re on Tinder.
• Polling shows Americans’ economic pessimism dodges Trump’s rhetoric; turns out, optimism doesn’t pay the bills.
• While tariffs fill the Treasury, they've also pushed Europe away; it's tough love in the trade game.
• Trump’s Iowa speeches are midterm auditions—appointing himself as the GOP’s economic cheerleader, despite mixed reviews.

Who speaks in this episode?

• John Bickley (Host) · 7 min speaking
• Georgia Hal (Guest) · 2 min speaking
• Kat Phillips (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Tim Pierce (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Cameron Uran (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Donald Trump, Daily Wire (company), Gold Belly, John Bickley
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Ursula Vanderlane, Donald Trump
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Donald Trump, HelloFresh, Daily Wire (company), Alex Jeffrey Prey
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Alex Jeffrey Prey, Tim Pierce, Juan Hugo Tubai Robels
5. 12:00 – 15:00: Daily Wire (company), Chrissy Gnome, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Tom Cotton
6. 15:00 – 16:59: Senator Elizabeth Warren

Notable quotes from "Trump’s Economic Line & Minnesota Tactic Shift"

• >> Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.

  about John Bickley · at 1:00

• >> Yeah, as we've talked about on the show, Trump has been traveling the country in recent months, really working to convince the American people that he…

  about Donald Trump · at 2:34

• Pharmaceuticals. It'll also allow Europe to finally sell their cars on the Indian market. EU head Ursula Vanderlane called this the quote mother of all deals. Here she…

  about Ursula Vanderlane · at 5:10

• >> Absolutely. Start the new year with meals that actually make you feel good. Our sponsor, HelloFresh, takes the stress right out of cooking so you can enjoy delicious homemade dinners every single.

  about HelloFresh · at 7:06

• Reporter Jenny Ter reported yesterday, that seems to be about a change in approach to deportations. The president had a 2-hour meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Christy…

  about Chrissy Gnome · at 8:39

• That were sure to result. This judge was irritated about one case in particular, that of Juan Hugo Tubai Robels. Toby Robels is from Ecuador and he has lived in the US…

  about Juan Hugo Tubai Robels · at 11:49

• This DHS funding, it would then have to go back to the House. Now you have Democrats like Elizabeth Warren calling for the bill to be separated so that way they can place…

  about Senator Elizabeth Warren · at 14:26

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Main referenced political figure / speaker · 6 mentions · first at 0:03
  Central figure across all three stories: economic messaging and tariffs, immigration enforcement strategy in Minnesota, and the DHS funding/shutdown fight.
• Chrissy Gnome — Person · Referenced government official (DHS Secretary) · 3 mentions · first at 0:34
  Presented as a key figure in Trump’s immigration strategy reset; criticized by some Democrats but defended by Trump in the episode.
• John Bickley — Person · Host · 2 mentions · first at 0:16
  Introduces the show and conducts interviews with Daily Wire reporters about Trump’s rally, Minnesota immigration unrest, and the shutdown fight.
• Alex Jeffrey Prey — Person · Referenced individual (deceased; focal incident in Minnesota story) · 2 mentions · first at 8:14
  His death in Minneapolis is described as the catalyst for unrest, political pressure on DHS leadership, and a shift in tone around immigration operations.
  President Trump is shuffling his personnel and changing his administration's message after the death of Alex Prey in Minneapolis, but he remains committed to deporting dangerous illegals in Minnesota.
• Tim Pierce — Person · Guest correspondent (Daily Wire reporter) · 2 mentions · first at 8:27
  Reports on the administration’s personnel/rhetoric shift in Minnesota after Alex Prey’s death and the legal/political fallout around ICE operations.
  Reporter Tim Pierce. So Tim, President Trump seems to be attempting a reset of sorts here. What's he doing? Yeah, the president is moving around his personnel on…
• Kat Phillips — Person · Guest correspondent (Daily Wire senior editor) · 1 mention · first at 2:26
  Provides analysis of Trump’s Iowa rally, tariff strategy, and allied responses including EU-India and Canada-China trade moves.
  >> Daily Wire senior editor Kat Phillips is here to discuss. Morning, Kat. So, let's start with the president's address in Iowa yesterday. What did we hear from him?
• Ursula Vanderlane — Person · Referenced foreign leader (EU head, per episode) · 2 mentions · first at 5:15
  Cited as announcing an EU-India trade framework and making remarks interpreted as veiled criticism of Trump’s approach.
• Mark Carney — Person · Referenced foreign leader (Canada PM, per episode) · 1 mention · first at 6:35
  Discussed as traveling to Beijing and pursuing a Canada-China strategic partnership, prompting Trump’s tariff threats.
  And it looks like Canada is now willing to take them up on the offer. This month, Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to Beijing for a series of meetings with Xi Jinping and…
• Senator Elizabeth Warren — Person · Referenced lawmaker (Senate Democrat) · 2 mentions · first at 14:30
  Cited as advocating to separate the funding bill to add restraints on ICE/Border Patrol amid shutdown negotiations.
• Juan Hugo Tubai Robels — Person · Referenced legal subject (immigration detention case) · 1 mention · first at 11:53
  Named as a specific habeas/due-process case cited by a Minnesota federal judge as part of broader litigation over detention policy.
• Tom Cotton — Person · Referenced lawmaker (Senate Republican leadership) · 1 mention · first at 14:52
  Presented as warning against a 'mob veto' and pushing back on Democrats’ shutdown leverage tactics.
  Point for a shutdown, but we could see something like that emerge. On the flip side, you have people like Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton warning against a mob…

Companies & orgs

• Daily Wire (company) — Company · Business focus · 4 mentions · first at 0:16
  The company producing the podcast, mentioned frequently as the source of the news and analysis.
  >> Daily Wire senior editor Kat Phillips is here to discuss. Morning, Kat. So, let's start with the president's address in Iowa yesterday. What did we hear from him?

Sponsors

• Gold Belly — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 1:08
  Promoted as a service delivering iconic American foods nationwide, with a special offer for listeners.
  Take it from me, Gold Belly has so much great stuff to offer. For example, I wanted pizza from Chicago and bagels from New York, so I got both. The quality was still top-notch, and it came right to my door, super easy. So whether.
• HelloFresh — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at 7:12
  Advertised as a meal kit service offering easy, homemade dinners with a variety of recipes.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:03 President Trump touts his first year economic wins in a rally in Iowa as US allies look elsewhere for trade deals. >> Under my leadership, economic growth is exploding to numbers unheard of and we're just getting started. >> I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Hal. It's Wednesday, January 28th. This is Morning Wire. >> >> The White House is recalibrating their approach in Minnesota, shifting both personnel and rhetoric on the unrest.

0:34 Mr. Homeman has been working alongside Secretary Gnome. And again, he's uniquely positioned to continue this correspondence with state and local authorities, and that's what he's going to be doing. >> And the countdown to another shutdown is on as Senate Democrats hold up a House passed budget bill over Homeland Security funding. >> I hate shutdowns. I'm one of the people that helped negotiate the end of the last shutdown, but I can't vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances.

1:00 >> Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. >> Have you heard of Gold Belly? It's this amazing site that celebrates the best of America by shipping our country's most iconic foods from legendary restaurants straight to your door anywhere in the USA. And it's perfect for game day, Valentine's Day, or anything else you have going on. Our sponsor, Gold Bell, delivers America's most famous regional dishes right to your doorstep. Whether you're craving authentic Chicago deep dish from Lumal Nadis, or the original Buffalo wings from Buffalo's Anchor Bar, they also offer indulgent options like Guyuri's loaded trash can nachos and genuine Philly cheese steaks. For Valentine's Day, consider their premium gift selections. Acclaimed steakhouse dinners from Pete Luger, delicate French

1:44 macaroons from Lad, or a historic [clears throat] recreation of the cake from JFK and Jackie Kennedy's wedding. Take it from me, Gold Belly has so much great stuff to offer. For example, I wanted pizza from Chicago and bagels from New York, so I got both. The quality was still top-notch, and it came right to my door, super easy. So whether you're looking to turn game day into an unforgettable experience with friends, or you want to impress a loved one on Valentine's Day, head over to goldbelly.com and get 20% off your first order with promo code wire. That's goldbelly.com codewire for 20% off your first order.

2:16 >> President Trump hit the campaign trail Tuesday to tout his economic agenda as Europe finds a new trading partner and sends a message to Washington. >> Daily Wire senior editor Kat Phillips is here to discuss. Morning, Kat. So, let's start with the president's address in Iowa yesterday. What did we hear from him? >> Yeah, as we've talked about on the show, Trump has been traveling the country in recent months, uh, really working to convince the American people that he is making progress on the economy. While the president himself won't be on the ballot again, uh, he's essentially campaigning for Republican control of the Senate come November, an Iowa Senate seat is going to be up for grabs. So, these speeches are basically campaign stops. And tell us a lot about the message we're going to hear from the GOP

2:58 over the next 9 months. always comes back to the midterms. >> It really does, John. Now, remember, polling shows that most Americans are still pessimistic about the state of things economically speaking. And the White House is convinced that it's all just a messaging problem. So, here is the message that President Trump is going with. Just after one year of President Trump, our economy is booming, incomes are rising, investment is soaring, inflation has been defeated. Our border is closed, totally closed, and America is respected all over the world.

3:31 >> Now, as expected, the president remains bullish on his tariff policies, which he says are just now starting to really pay dividends. Have a listen. >> We recently issued 12 billion in farm relief. if we gave them far because you were screwed by other countries. I said, "How much is the number to our great secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins? He's doing a great job." I said, "Broo, what's the number?" And she said, "12 billion." And I wrote a check for $12 billion because we have so much money from the tariffs coming in. So, you couldn't have done that before. We're a rich country now. Now, on that topic, we've seen some major developments abroad in response to Trump's tariffs. Let's get into that.

4:13 What's going on? Right. Since regaining the White House, Trump has used tariffs to spur domestic manufacturing, open up new markets for American products, and importantly reduce our reliance on China. He says, for national security purposes, and more broadly to send a message that we're not going to be bullied by their unfair trade policies. Well, amid this ongoing trade war, much of Europe now considers the US a trade adversary. And they're basically looking to do the same thing, except in this scenario, we are their China. Remember, the EU is furious with Trump over his hard ball tactics on Greenland, NATO funding, the war in Ukraine, and tariffs. He's essentially told them, "We're the number one economy. You need us. If you don't like the deals I'm offering, go find another partner." And now the EU is trying to do just that. On

4:58 Tuesday, the European Union announced the framework of a massive trade deal with India, the world's most populous nation. That agreement will eliminate or greatly reduce nearly all tariffs between the two sides, mostly on agricultural products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. It'll also allow Europe to finally sell their cars on the Indian market. EU head Ursula Vanderlane called this the quote mother of all deals. Here she is on Tuesday with some comments that a lot of people viewed as veiled shots at Trump. The European Union and India are natural strategic partners because we have so much in common.

5:34 Pluralism and respect for human dignity is at our core. But we respect this diversity. Unity in diversity is the motto on your side and on our side. >> Bandonderland went on to say that quote India and Europe have made a clear choice. the choice of strategic partnership, dialogue, and openness. We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible. Again, maybe a veil shot there at Trump right >> now. For Europe, while this deal is massive, it still reportedly only makes up for about a quarter of export losses caused by American tariffs. But again, it's clear proof that they are trying to find other dance partners besides the US.

6:12 >> Right. And as we've been tracking, the EU isn't the only ally of the US who's taking this approach. I'm talking about Canada, of course. Tell us about what's going on there. Yeah, China has been open about their desire to take advantage of this trade war and the volatility it might be causing and use it as a chance to cozy up with Western nations who are frustrated with the US. And it looks like Canada is now willing to take them up on the offer. This month, Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to Beijing for a series of meetings with Xi Jinping and emerged with a quote strategic partnership that will lower tariffs between the two countries and open up the Canadian market for cheap Chinese electric vehicles. that as you can imagine outraged Trump who accused the Canadians of violating the US Mexico Canada trade agreement. He responded by threatening

6:56 them with additional 100% tariffs. Well, Trump told us for years now that his favorite word is tariffs. So, not surprised to see that response. >> Yeah, exactly. Kevin, thanks for reporting. >> Absolutely. Start the new year with meals that actually make you feel good. Our sponsor, HelloFresh, takes the stress right out of cooking so you can enjoy delicious homemade dinners every single night. HelloFresh brings people together with meals that are simple and rewarding even on your busiest week nights. With over 100 mouthwatering recipes each week, from seasonal favorites to global dishes like barbecue pork burgers, you'll find bigger portions that ensure nobody leaves the table hungry. Take it from me, I've ordered everything from Hawaiian pizza and nacho crunch burgers to lamb chops and fillets. And no matter the meal, it's always top-notch and simple to prep.

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8:12 President Trump is shuffling his personnel and changing his administration's message after the death of Alex Prey in Minneapolis, but he remains committed to deporting dangerous illegals in Minnesota. >> Here to talk about the latest on the push back from Minnesota to President Trump's immigration agenda is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So Tim, President Trump seems to be attempting a reset of sorts here. What's he doing? Yeah, the president is moving around his personnel on immigration. And as our immigration reporter Jenny Ter reported yesterday, that seems to be about a change in approach to deportations. The president had a 2-hour meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome as part of this restructuring. Here's Jenny with the latest. As President Trump looks to shift his strategy on mass deportations, Noom is facing criticism for making

8:57 immigration raids more aggressive and for appearing to get ahead of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Freddy by calling him a domestic terrorist and suggesting he showed up armed to massacre federal agents. Some congressional Democrats, including moderate Democratic Senator John Federman, have called on Trump to ou him. Trump, however, appears to be standing his ground. Listen to his response to the mounting pressure. I think she's doing a very good job. I think she's doing a very good job. The border is totally secure. You know, you forget we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now we have a border where no one is coming through.

9:35 >> Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Trump's borders are Tom H. Home. Homeman has started to get settled and meet with state and local officials, including Governor Tim Walls, and they agreed to an ongoing dialogue over continued federal immigration operations. Now, as we've already reported, this really blew up because of the death of Alex Prey, who we've since learned may have had a previous run-in with law enforcement. What do we know about PR's history? >> Right. According to CNN, Prey was known to federal officers already, a week before his fatal confrontation with Border Patrol, Prey was involved in a prior violent confrontation with federal officers. He actually broke a rib after officers tackled him while he was protesting or obstructing immigration enforcement while they attempted to arrest an illegal alien. The Department of Homeland Security, though, has said

10:21 it has no record of the incident. >> Now, on the ground in Minnesota, tensions seem to be about as high as ever with a very large crowd of protesters invading the state capital building yesterday. What do we know about that incident? >> It was a pretty wild site. Demonstrators crowded into the state capital to protest against ICE. Here's what that sounded like.

10:50 >> And this came after walls and the federal government seem to be reaching toward an agreement of some sort. But if this is any indication, it doesn't appear that Minnesota's anti-ICE activist community will be okay with anything short of a complete stop to federal immigration operations in the state. Now, a federal judge in Minnesota has demanded that the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appear in court later this week. The judge himself admits this is a quote extraordinary step. And the order suggests that acting ICE director Todd Lions could be held in contempt. Why is this judge so upset with Todd Lions?

11:27 >> Right. Chief Judge Patrick Schultz said that the Trump administration violated a court order to give illegal aliens due process. The judge wrote in a three-page order, quote, "This court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habius petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result. This judge was irritated about one case in particular, that of Juan Hugo Tubai Robels. Toby Robels is from Ecuador and he has lived in the US illegally for the past 30 years. ICE officers with an arrest warrant detained him on January 6th, but Judge Schultz said that he must be released because he was not first served a notice to appear.

12:11 >> Now, this seems pretty similar to other suits that we've seen. Is this a unique case? >> No, not really. The Toby Robels case is just one of many over the government's policy of mandatory detention, which is an expansive read on the executive's authority to detain and deport illegal immigrants. Under previous administrations, illegal aliens who have been in the US for a long time, have been given more due process. But the Trump administration says that that's an arbitrary choice and one not required by federal law since these aliens, no matter how long they've been in the country, should still be considered applicants for admission. The administration has taken a similar approach to illegals who have had prior deportation orders. In some of those cases, the deportation orders are years old or the aliens home country has

12:55 refused to take them back, which has created some complications. But the administration says that its due process requirements regardless have already been fulfilled. >> So, an open legal question for the courts to decide now. Tim, thanks for reporting. >> Good to be on. In Washington, we're inching closer to a partial government shutdown on Friday as the Senate debates funding for Homeland Security. >> Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Uran has more details on this developing situation. Morning Cameron. So, what can we expect to see this week?

13:29 >> So, funding for the federal government is expected to expire on Friday, but the problem is that the House is out of town this week because they already approved those spending bills and sent them to the Senate. Now, since the shooting that we saw in Minneapolis over the weekend, the tone has definitely shifted a little bit and Dems want a shutdown over DHS funding because they want strings attached to it. Now, Fox News reported that the bills could go up for votes in the Senate on Thursday and there could be some sort of negotiations hashed out, but it is not looking good right now, meaning we could very well be seeing a partial government shutdown headed into this weekend.

14:07 >> All right, so we could see votes as early as tomorrow. Have there been any negotiations at this point? >> Well, things are looking bleak and it's simply because there's a debate over whether or not that funding should be included and lumped in with other funding bills that already exist. Keep in mind, if there was changes made to this DHS funding, it would then have to go back to the House. Now you have Democrats like Elizabeth Warren calling for the bill to be separated so that way they can place restraints on ICE and Border Patrol as you have people like Federman and House Democrats wanting for Secretary Gnome to be fired. That wouldn't necessarily be a um leverage point for a shutdown, but we could see something like that emerge. On the flip side, you have people like Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton warning against a mob veto saying this

14:57 is not going to fly, especially when we see that, you know, the House already approved these bills and that could make this debate even messier and drag out longer. >> Right now, a lot of critics have said that stopping DHS funding would be pointless and potentially just create other issues. Tell us about that argument. Yes. So, sources I've talked with at DHS and the White House have said that a lot of this would really be impacting funding to FEMA and TSA because the big catch here about this debate and why the Democrats want to use this right now to put restrictions on ICE even though a lot of that funding for Trump's immigration agenda happened under the one big beautiful bill act that was already approved. So the massive funding of ICE officers and some of the stuff with the border wall and all that that was already approved. So >> using this is a way to see if there

15:53 could be restrictions put in place by essentially using those other agencies at this point as leverage. Now there have been bipartisan calls for an investigation into the shooting that we saw in Minneapolis. But we're seeing on the House side and in the Senate side some potential restrictions being floated on some of these immigration operations such as stopping masking. It's unclear if any of this would have any success at this point, but as we head into a pretty serious shutdown battle. You know, we saw one last year.

16:24 It will be interesting to see what ends up coming out of it. >> Yeah. Well, we'll be watching very closely in these coming days. Cameron, thank you so much for reporting. >> Thank you. Before we sign off, a programming note. As some of you have noticed, we've not been able to do video this week. That is because of the winter storm that's come through Nashville. But no worries, we will be coming back to video as soon as conditions permit. And we will be back this evening with more news you need to know on Evening Wire.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Trump’s Economic Line & Minnesota Tactic Shift"?

John Bickley (Host), Georgia Hal (Guest), Kat Phillips (Guest), Tim Pierce (Guest), Cameron Uran (Guest).

What is "Trump’s Economic Line & Minnesota Tactic Shift" about?

President Trump celebrates his administration's economic achievements during a rally in Iowa while allies pivot toward alternative trade deals, and the White House modifies its strategy in Minnesota, enhancing local collaboration amid ongoing unrest. Additionally, Senate Democrats are blocking a budget bill over Homeland Security funding, raising concerns about a potential government shutdown.

What is mentioned in this Morning Wire episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Daily Wire (company), Chrissy Gnome, John Bickley, Alex Jeffrey Prey, Tim Pierce. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Trump’s Economic Line & Minnesota Tactic Shift"?

The episode runs 17 min; the transcript is about 3,095 words in 26 timestamped sections.

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