Skip to content 4/7/2025 Israel Updates, Trump Tariffs, and the Budget Apr 8 · 59 min ...more
4/7/2025 Israel Updates, Trump Tariffs, and the Budget
April 8, 2025 · 59 min
Today's episode provides commentary on President Trump's meeting with Netanyahu, the House's budget reconciliation, the U.S. and China trade standoff, and President Trump's tariffs.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video April 8, 2025 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Today's episode provides commentary on President Trump's meeting with Netanyahu, the House's budget reconciliation, the U.S. and China trade standoff, and President Trump's tariffs. ...more Show the full description Show less Today's episode provides commentary on President Trump's meeting with Netanyahu, the House's budget reconciliation, the U.S. and China trade standoff, and President Trump's tariffs.
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In this video 0:00 Economic Turmoil and Political Maneuvering2:57 International Relations and Trade Tensions17:20 Budget Battles and Economic Strategies29:11 Trade Wars and Global Implications38:45 Economic Policies and Future Outlook
1:31 speaking of Europe, the European Union has signaled it is open to dropping all tariffs on US industrial imports.
1:39 We stand ready to negotiate with the United States. Indeed, we have offered 0 for 0 tariffs for industrial goods as we have successfully done with many other trading
1:50 partners. Because Europe is always ready for good deal, so we keep it on the table.
1:58 This offer comes after Trump last week slapped 20 percent tariffs on Europe. The European Union has not ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs of its own in response. Another
2:09 country responding to Trump's tariffs is China. China has said it will impose a 34 percent retaliatory tariff on all US goods in reaction to Trump's new duties. President Trump is not happy
2:21 about that. This morning, he wrote that if China does not withdraw this new tariff, he will impose another 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods thereby thereby escalating the
2:33 trade war. While Wall Street and the mainstream media are in frenzy over Trump's new tariffs, the American electorate is doing just fine. A new poll from the Daily Mail shows that president Trump's
2:45 approval rating rose 4 points last week from 49 to 53 percent. Trump also saw a 6 point increase in favorability among Democrats and independents according to
2:57 the survey. Plus, when it comes to Trump's baseline 10 percent tariff he imposed on all goods coming into the country, more Americans support than oppose it. Here's Treasury Secretary Scott
International Relations and Trade Tensions
3:08 Besant on why everyday Americans are more supportive of the tariffs.
3:13 Look, I'm not happy with with what's going on in the market today, but the distribution of equities across households, the top 10 percent of Americans own 88
3:25 percent of equities, 88 percent of the stock market. The next 40 percent owns 12 percent of the stock market. The bottom 50 has debt. They have
3:37 credit card bills. They rent their homes. They have auto loans, and we've got to give them some relief.
3:44 And another White House news, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with president Donald Trump in the Oval Office today. This was the first in person meeting with a foreign leader to discuss the
3:56 tariffs imposed last week. The Trump admin imposed a 17 percent tariff on Israel. Trump and Netanyahu also met to discuss Israel's war with Hamas among other key issues.
4:08 After their meeting, Netanyahu told reporters that Israel would work to eliminate its trade deficit with the US and remove all other barriers to trade. And
4:20 moving our attention to congress, on Saturday, the senate approved a budget resolution that will allow Republicans to pass president Trump's agenda on taxes, energy, and the border. The
4:32 resolution passed by a vote of 51 to 48. And those are today's headlines. I'm Victoria Marshall. Up next is Washington Watch with Tony Perkins. We'll see you
4:43 tomorrow with more news.
4:52 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers,
5:05 all from a biblical worldview. Washington Watch with Tony Perkins starts now.
5:11 Welcome to this April seventh edition of Washington Watch. I'm Tony Perkins. Thanks for tuning in. President Trump met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu today in the Oval Office. The talks covered a
5:23 wide range of topics, tariffs, hostages, Iran, and Gaza. But what brought the prime minister back to the US so soon after his February visit? We'll be joined by CBN's Chris Mitchell from
5:35 Jerusalem with a readout on the Oval Office meeting. Also, over the weekend, the senate passed its budget resolution. House budget committee chairman Jody Arrington blasted the measure as unserious
5:47 and disappointing. Speaker Johnson says the resolution doesn't define the final outcome, but it does allow reconciliation to begin in earnest. House is expected to vote on this Wednesday.
5:59 We'll talk with chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Maryland congressman, Andy Harris, a little later. And on the tariff front, China responded to president Trump's tariffs with a 34 percent increase on US
6:11 goods. Now president Trump is pledging another 50 percent tariff hike if China doesn't roll back on their retaliation.
6:20 They're very confident in many ways, except in their economy. When you look at the inside working of their economy, they're very, very dependent on exports. If they don't have large quantities of exports, their their
6:31 economy doesn't work at all. So this is a direct challenge to them to say we're gonna try to push more manufacturing in the United States to bring jobs here. So I think that's why China has reacted so fast.
6:41 That was senate Republican conference vice chair James Langford on Meet the Press yesterday. We'll unpack this with Asian expert Gordon Chang. Also joining me, economist David Bahnsen.
6:53 Will, will the tariffs will it create a trade war, and, could it accelerate a recession, And what should families be doing to prepare? We're gonna talk about all of that and more on this
7:05 Monday edition of Washington Watch. And speaking of Monday, today brings a new episode of FRC's God in Government. In episode 8, I explore what the Bible says about economics,
7:17 wealth, inflation, and the proper role of civil government in the economy. I can tell you it's a very timely and important discussion. God in government is available exclusively on the Stand Firm app.
7:29 You can go to the app store and download the Stand Firm app or simply text the word course, that's course, to 6 7 7 4 2, course to 6 7 7 4 2, and I will send you a link.
7:42 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with president Trump at the White House earlier today after arriving in Washington on Sunday. The meeting comes on the heels of president Trump's new tariff policy
7:53 in Israel's dramatic expansion of its footprint in Gaza Strip since it resumed its war against Hamas. The meeting is attracting a lot of attention as prime minister Netanyahu was just in Washington in
8:05 February for president Trump's first meeting with the foreign head of state as he began his second term. Joining me now to unpack all of this is Chris Mitchell, the Middle East bureau chief at CBN News, who joins
8:17 us from Jerusalem. Chris, welcome back to Washington Watch. And as always, thanks for staying up late for us.
8:25 Sure. Glad to do it, Tony. Important things happening here in Jerusalem and certainly where you are in Washington.
8:33 Now according to reports, this visit was scheduled with only a few days notice. My sense and what I'm hearing from others that I'm having conversations with is that since
8:45 the prime minister was just here in February, for him returning so soon would suggest that this is a very significant conversation taking place.
8:55 I would agree, Tony, and I think it's, very sensitive and significant and likely, revolving around what's what the US and Israel will do with Iran and its nuclear,
9:08 sites. Will they attack, or will they delay it, or will they actually be, direct or indirect talks with, Iran over its nuclear program? The US is making it clear
9:19 that, that Iran has to eliminate its nuclear program. Whether that does it voluntarily or through a military strike remains to be seen. It's unlikely, it seems,
9:31 after the long history of Iran and its nuclear program that they would do so voluntarily. So perhaps this meeting has to do with, plans to, to have a
9:43 joint US Israeli strike, and or maybe it's the the Israelis who really wanna make sure that president Trump, doesn't get bogged down in, endless
9:55 negotiations, and there's a date certain to when, these talks, may end. Do we know, Tony, that, president Trump sent a letter to the Ayatollah Khomeini, you know, talking about the,
10:07 negotiations, but he put a 2 month limit on it, which is gonna expire not too far away.
10:14 The conversations that I've been having on both sides, Israel, United States, by those that are kind of in the mix is this is the time. I I don't think anyone disagrees over the timing
10:26 that this was is the moment in which this threat has to be removed, whether that's voluntarily, as you pointed to. And I think the the,
10:38 analogy there or the the the the way forward with the voluntary is like what we saw with Libya, where there is a a voluntary dismantlement of their nuclear plan that is overseen
10:51 by, other countries, including the United States. The there's only 1 other option. And it looks like both countries could be prepared to take that other option if necessary.
11:02 Yeah. And if you look at all the military assets that are being, brought here to the region, Tony, it looks like the military option is the way that it's gonna go. If you look at Diego Garcia, they're in the Indian
11:14 Ocean. They are b 2 bombers, b 52 bombers. You have 2 carrier strike groups in the region, a third on its way. So the military assets are just, you know,
11:26 getting, more and more assets here into the region, and you would think that, this is gonna be a joint strike. For the US is for the Israeli perspective, Tony, to have the, b twos
11:38 and where they can have a 30000 pound bomb called the, MOP, the, you know, massive ordnance penetrator. You know, that really is what probably can
11:50 really make a difference in some of these sites in, in Iran right now that are very deep underground, concrete hardened, and they Iran has done that because they know that, so we
12:02 try to make it invulnerable to any air attack. But with the the b twos, the b 50 twos, added to what Israel can bring with its f 30 fives, it looks like a pretty formidable,
12:13 attack against these nuclear sites, which are spread throughout, throughout Iran purposely to avoid, you know, like a single strike that happened in 19 81 in the Iraqi, reactor and
12:25 then 2007 against the Syrian reactor. So Iran knows what it's doing, but they're facing right now the possibility that their nuclear program might be, get hit very hard.
12:36 So, Chris, talking about the military, let's talk about Gaza because it does appear that Israel is accelerating their activity there in Gaza. I would interpret that as
12:48 wanting to bring this to a conclusion pretty quickly, allowing them to return their attention elsewhere.
12:54 Yeah. What they're doing is setting up a security zone. So they're actually, eliminating all Gazans out of certain areas within, Gaza, like in Rafa, areas between Rafa and Canyounis.
13:06 They're shrinking the territory that Hamas is able to control. They're also cutting it into different security zones throughout the Gaza Strip. So, yes, it seems like they wanna bring it to a con conclusion,
13:19 put more pressure on Hamas, hopefully be able to put the pressure on so that more hostages, would be released. But I think this idea of a security zones is really a bit of a game changer here right now
13:31 and, in the battle the a year and a half now against Hamas. And, I think Israel is taking a much more determined, stance against Hamas with this new military operations
13:43 in the last few weeks.
13:44 And, Chris Mitchell, more evidence coming out, as, documentation found, among the rubble there of, Hamas controlled areas in the tunnels of this
13:56 collaboration between Iran and Hamas and how October seventh may may have, in fact, been funded by Iran.
14:05 Yeah. It was released by Israeli defense minister Israel Katz, where some of the documents were from Yaya Senwar and his number 2 man, Mohammed Diouf, where they were getting 20000000 dollars a
14:17 month up to, half a billion dollars to, prepare for annihilating, as they say, the, quote, Zionist entity. And, part of that translation, Tony, they said that,
14:29 you know, Allah willing, we will actually meet in a liberated Jerusalem. So the idea was that they could actually defeat Israel, and not only that, but also come here to Jerusalem,
14:41 which is the goal not only of Hamas, but also, Iran as well to liberate Jerusalem, to destroy the Jewish state. And all part of the documentation that they're finding right now to show
14:53 the financial connection between the Islamic Republic, and the Hamas leadership all before October seventh.
15:00 Now wasn't that at the same time that the Biden administration was releasing funds to, making funds accessible to Iran?
15:10 I mean, it's such a tragedy, Tony, that actually the US was, you know, easing sanctions on, on on Iran. For 4 years, the Trump administration had the maximum
15:22 pressure policy that was nearly bankrupting, the Islamic Republic and, when lifting the sanctions, it literally gave billions of dollars back into Iran's coffers. And, they
15:34 were able to use that to actually fund, not only October seventh, but the Houthis down in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and, all designed at the time to have this ring
15:46 of fire around, Israel and really eventually destroy, the state of Israel. But here we are over a year and a half, after October seventh. Hezbollah is nearly gone. So is Hamas and the
15:57 Houthis as well.
15:59 You cannot deny the impact of America's foreign policy and how we engage. I mean, here we are, here we were. We're not doing it now, but making it easier for Iran to
16:11 have the excess revenue to fund terrorist activity and attacks on Israel that we, in turn, helped fund them to defend against. Tell me that makes sense.
16:22 You know, it makes no sense, Tony. And I remember being with you and a group of, other Christian leaders that repented at the site of the NOVA Music Festival for funding UNRWA,
16:34 which was part of, you know, allied with Hamas there in the Gaza Strip and, and helped facilitate that massacre that we were there and, saw the many,
16:46 signs of many of the, people that were murdered on that day. And and so I think that was a moving time to actually repent for what the US was culpable for, not only with UNRWA, but also helping to fund the
16:58 Islamic Republic.
16:59 Well, it is certainly something that Americans, Christians here in America need to be praying because we were complicit, not directly, but indirectly by allowing Iran to have the capacity and the
17:11 capability to inspire and fund these attacks on on Israel. We just have about a a minute and a half left, Chris. But, more information coming out of Hamas, The Jerusalem Post reporting
Budget Battles and Economic Strategies
17:23 that, what most of us realize, Hamas was lying about the numbers when it came to fatalities. It was not children and women. The vast majority was in fact those that fell in the age category
17:34 of terrorist and warriors.
17:37 Yeah. Thousands, they've taken Hamas itself has taken off, these these roles of those who had died. You know, at the very beginning of the war, it was the Hamas, health ministry that started promoting
17:49 these numbers all in a way to exaggerate what Israel was doing and all the way to demonize, Israel. It's all part of their propaganda war. For those that have been, you know, covering this for 20
18:01 years or so, it was a movie that we've seen before. Hamas, typically, exaggerates the death count. They talk about, more women and children than actually, men.
18:13 So this is, something that finally is coming out to the light. And, the major media, including, even the Biden administration and other nations just took these numbers by Hamas
18:24 at face value
18:26 and, and just just ran with them.
18:27 And I haven't seen them corrected either. Chris Mitchell, always great to see you. Thanks so much for, joining us tonight.
18:35 Thanks, Tony.
18:36 Chris Mitchell with CBN from Jerusalem. Alright. When we come back, we're gonna talk budget with the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, doctor Andy Harris of Maryland, joins us next. So don't go away. A lot more
18:48 Washington Watch straight ahead.
18:53 At Family Research Council, we believe religious freedom is a fundamental human right that all governments must protect. That's why FRC president Tony Perkins went to Capitol Hill
19:05 to testify on behalf of persecuted Christians in Nigeria. Islamist terror groups target Christians and other religious minorities in Nigeria with brutal violence. Representative
19:17 Chris Smith, who chaired the hearing, said 55000 people have been killed and 21000 abducted in the last 5 years alone. The congressman also stressed that
19:29 89 percent of Christians in the world who are murdered are from Nigeria.
19:34 Yet the government of Nigeria has failed to make progress against religiously motivated persecution of Christians despite religious freedom being enshrined as an essential human right in their constitution.
19:45 Tony Perkins called for the United States to send an unmistakable message.
19:50 This is systematic religious violence. Nigeria must be redesignated a country of particular concern. Biden administration's removal of this designation was a reckless mistake
20:02 that emboldened the very terrorists who are slaughtering Christians.
20:06 Redesignating Nigeria will enable the US government to pressure Nigerian leaders to protect vulnerable Christians.
20:14 These are not just numbers. These are fathers, their mothers, their children, their families.
20:20 Bishop Wilfred Anagabe risked his life to speak out, sharing firsthand accounts of the danger faced in his church district in Central Nigeria.
20:30 We live in fear because at any point, it can be our turn to be killed. But to remain silent is to die twice. So I have chosen to speak.
20:40 FRC is calling on president Trump to act now to promote religious freedom around the globe and speak up on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.
20:52 Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington Stand, your ultimate destination for informed, faith centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines,
21:04 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking events to cultural insights, we provide clear, compassionate coverage through a biblical lens. Discover news you can trust at the Washington Stand,
21:16 where faith and facts meet every day.
21:23 Download the new Stand Firm app for Apple and Android phones today and join a wonderful community of fellow believers. We've created a special place for you to access news from a biblical perspective,
21:35 read and listen to daily devotionals, pray for current events, and more. Share the Stand Firm app with your friends, family, and church members, and stand firm everywhere you go.
21:55 This is Washington Watch. I'm your host, Tony Perkins. Thanks for joining us. Alright. Republicans in congress are working to pass president Trump's America first budget as quickly as possible. Over the weekend, the
22:06 senate passed another budget resolution, this 1 in line with the 1 big beautiful bill approach. But some house members, GOP members, believe it pales in comparison to the house passed
22:18 version from over a month ago. So what are the differences? What's causing concern? And will it have the necessary votes for the scheduled vote to to take place on Wednesday? We're here to discuss this, congressman Andy
22:30 Harris. He serves as a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He's also the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. He represents the first congressional district of Maryland. Doctor Harris, welcome back to
22:40 Washington Watch. It's always good to see you.
22:43 Good to be with you, Tony.
22:44 Alright. So, not surprisingly, the Senate Republicans fell a little bit short of expectations for house members. Break that down for us.
22:53 So the senate bill is a little more complicated than the house bill. So what it does, it sets an aspirational budget goal, for next year of 6500000000000.0 total spending, but that's completely unenforceable. The
23:05 only thing that's enforceable are the instructions to the 4 committees for deficit reduction, and, those sit at only 4000000000 with a b, whereas the house version was 1 and a half to 2 and a half
23:17 trillion with a t. So, we think that in order to get a meaningful deficit reduction, we'd have to go, with something much closer to the house version or see what the senate intends to do,
23:29 with their language.
23:31 Now the the speaker says that this sets up the the the serious phase of this budget reconciliation, that this provides the framework and doesn't necessarily dictate the outcome.
23:43 Is that is is that accurate?
23:46 Well, we we don't need to set up the next phase. We could go right to the, committees and ask them to begin writing the reconciliation bill. That's actually what we did in 20 17. We didn't pass the, unified
23:58 budget resolution, which is what we're talking about now until, actually, we had put some, meat on the bones in terms of, what was gonna be the final product. That's what we should do now because there there's some of us
24:09 in the house who just feel this is not an adequate amount of, debt reduction when we're looking at a 2000000000000 dollar federal deficit. And, again, if the senate stays, true to their word and
24:21 they do deliver, a reconciliation bill that begins to look like that, that's fine. We can pass that, budget resolution at that time. But, you know, I I'm a believer in trust but
24:33 verify. We need some verification from the senate that they're actually going to have meaningful deficit reduction.
24:39 Now the Republican conference in the house had a conference call yesterday, and I understand that there were there were a lot of concerns, expressed in that call. A vote has tentatively been
24:51 scheduled for Wednesday. It doesn't sound like there's going to be the Republican votes to pass what's currently on the table here.
24:58 I don't think there will be, and I think the speaker should put it off because it's not necessary to pass this, at this time. We should get to work. Again, put pen to paper. Let's see what the, senate, means, when they,
25:10 when when they're talking about deficit reduction. And if it's in line with what the house has, suggested, then, we'll be good to go at that time. But, I I would advise the speaker not to do it, not to
25:22 put it to a vote this week, because he doesn't wanna come up short on this, because we can continue with, drafting those reconciliation bills without this budget resolution at this point.
25:33 So what do you envision would be the time frame for that, consolidated, approach between the house and the senate? Because it obviously has to go through both chambers, And
25:45 the economy is getting, kinda antsy with the the tariffs. The tax cuts are contained in this reconciliation, I think, which I would I would think are going to be essential in stabilizing
25:57 the economy.
25:59 Again, Tony, I think the most important thing is let's start talking, the brass tacks. What where are these where is the deficit gonna be reduced? And we can do that right now. We don't need this budget
26:10 resolution. We will need it at some point in the future. And if the senate, again, is in line, if their idea of of, deficit reduction is in line with the house's idea, then we can pass it at any
26:22 time and then move the reconciliation bills forward. The only thing we can't do is bring a reconciliation bill to the floor without, the these budget resolutions being passed by both houses. But we're we're still
26:34 far away from that. And, again, I, you know, I trust but verify. I mean, let's go ahead and see what the senate means by deficit.
26:41 So what you're proposing, if I understand it correctly, doctor Harris, is that the house should go ahead and put pen to paper and not just use the top line numbers, but actually put forward these deficit reduction
26:52 measures, put that into a package, and then tell the senate, hey. This is what we've got.
26:58 Yeah. And most importantly, we need to see what the senate's got because we know that we have to have at least a trillion and a half and up to 2 and a half trillion dollars in cuts over the next 10 years. Their
27:09 instructions are only for 4000000000 over the next 10 years. We need but they say, oh, trust us. We're gonna have a larger deficit reduction. Good. Let's see what that deficit reduction is like. And at that point, we'll
27:20 pass the budget resolution, and this this will go, proceed very rapidly after that.
27:25 I mean, I I I kinda see the the committee budget committee chairman, Jody Arrington, saying this is not even serious. 4000000000, in in enforceable cuts. I mean, what do
27:37 you think the Senate's thinking here?
27:39 Well, look. They claim they're gonna be serious about deficit reduction. I just say, let's see where it is. You know? Show us the money. Show us where your deficit reduction plans are. And, if they come again, if they
27:51 come near the house's deficit reduction plans, then let's go to town. Let's give the president his tax cuts. Let's, put that deficit reduction in place, and we can do that in fairly rapid order. But, again, it's not on
28:02 the promise of the senate. We because it's not enforceable. That's the only thing enforceable in the senate is 4000000000, and I think Jody Arrington is right. It's not serious until we see exactly what their idea of
28:13 deficit reduction is.
28:15 We just have about a minute and a half left, doctor Harris, but but I do think it's important when we talk about deficit, we talk about debt. You know, a lot of folks get lost in all these, DC terms,
28:27 but we we've been talking about the imbalance between trade and why it's important to to do the tough decisions about tariffs and and trying to balance out our trade. Getting a handle on the
28:39 deficit and our debt is is just as critical, if not more so.
28:45 That's absolutely right. And the 2 are intertwined. You know, as we bring American industry back through tariff policy, if we bring industries back into the United States, we grow our GDP, we help our debt and our
28:55 deficit. So they are intertwined. But right now, we have to deal with the federal, debt and the federal deficit because these, in the end, could be crippling to the American economy if it goes too far.
29:07 Yeah. And I I I tend to to agree that the senate's not really grasp in the urgency of the moment when it comes to the the deficit and the the debt. Doctor Harris, always great to see you. Thank you soShow more
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