Welcome to Bias Breakdown. I'm your host, Kara Rucker
There's been volatility in the stock market since President Trump's tariffs went into effect
The media is reacting, yzing, making predictions, and it's everything from a recession to a market boom
With so many different voices, let's cut through the noise. That's the focus of today's Bias Breakdown
Join Straight Arrow News. See the slant. Avoid the bias. When others skew the facts, we give you the truth down the center
Welcome to Bias Breakdown. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Today we're standing up for the American worker and we are finally putting America first
And starting tomorrow, the United States will implement reciprocal tariffs on other nations
Last Wednesday, Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts
a baseline 10% tariff on all countries and higher rates for countries that Trump called
the worst offenders, countries imposing some of the highest tariffs, plus the value of any trade barriers on U.S. goods. In response to China's 67% tariff on U.S
goods, the U.S. is adding a 34% tax on imported Chinese products on top of an already 20% tax
previously implemented over fentanyl. That could go up by 50% this week because of China's
retaliatory moves. That means China could end up with a 104% tariff. As for other countries facing
some of the highest tariffs on their goods shipped to the U.S., Vietnam, 46%, Taiwan at 32%
India, a 26% tariff, and the European Union with a 20% tariff. All of these tariff
rates are about half of the tariff rate being imposed on U.S. goods into their countries
Trump's tariff announcement came with plenty of coverage with outlets leaning in. Fox News on the
right touted the importance of Liberation Day. Happy Liberation Day. Today, Donald Trump
fundamentally changed the country as we know it. This is the biggest shift in economic policy since
World War II when we liberated Europe and Asia. 47 says we're now liberating ourselves from
globalization. Five American presidents helped dig us into this trade deficit hole that we
currently find ourselves in. And only one, Donald Trump, had the guts to try to dig us out
It is liberation day in America. And tonight we will shatter the myths surrounding Donald Trump's
American first economic vision. And networks on the left, MSNBC and CNN
calling the president's tariffs a bad idea. And is there any positive take on this
Well, I can answer the second question first. I don't think there's a single positive take on this
This is all just bad It bad as we talked about before for inflation It bad for economic growth It bad for everything Tariffs on basically the entire world will do what for the economy It will send it into reverse Let there be no doubt about this The president said today a whole
load of economic nonsense. 24 hours after Donald Trump intentionally detonated a bomb in the heart
of the most resilient economy on the planet, the sights and sounds of his failure to protect the
American people's pocketbooks are everywhere. These clips come from some of the network's
top rated programs with millions of viewers. We like to do these comparison soundbites
or as we call them, sots, to show the contrast in coverage on major news stories on some of the
top watch news programs in the country. So if someone were to only consume news from a network
on one side of the political aisle, it's clear they would only get one perspective when it's
clear there are multiple narratives. Now, most of the news coverage since Trump's announcement
has been focused on the stock market. Let's go through some of the numbers first
then look again at the news coverage. At the close of trading Thursday, the first full day
following Trump's tariffs, U.S. stocks closed in their worst day since June 2020 during the COVID-19
pandemic. The Nasdaq fell 5.9 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 4.8 percent and the Dow down 3.9 percent
The next day, Friday, a similar tale. The Nasdaq fell 5.82 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 5.97 percent
and the Dow another 5.5 percent down. And when markets opened again Monday and closed for its
third day after Trump's tariffs, the Nasdaq ticked up 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 ticked down 0.23 percent
and the Dow decreased 0.9 percent. The plunge is among the steepest of the last decade
The Trump administration said market volatility was expected, and as Trump was leaving the White
House Thursday, Trump reiterated his stance that the markets will eventually boom from his tariff
policy. The markets today are way down the earth today here because of the terror. So
I'll be told. I think it's going very well. It was an operation like when a patient gets operated on
and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is. The markets are going to boom
The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom. And in the meantime, the president says
don't panic or be a panicking. Posting to Truth Social Monday, the United States has a chance to
do something that should have been done decades ago. Don't be weak. Don't be stupid. Don't be a
panicking. A new party based on weak and stupid people. Be strong, courageous, and patient
and greatness will be the result. Right-leaning networks have largely shared the prediction
of a market boom citing other economic factors that the country is currently seeing such as lower oil prices inflation and a positive jobs report from Friday All of these things are true
Left-leaning networks are largely highlighting the tariff turmoil could spin the U.S. into a recession
citing economist and billionaire outlooks that have raised the odds of a recession significantly
since the tariffs took effect, which is also true. Like J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying this is now the most perilous economic environment since World War II
Two different sets of information to come up with two different takeaways based on a news outlet's political lean and coverage
Take Fox News business hosts Maria Bartiromo, Charles Payne and Fox News' Will Cain
Rates are plummeting. Oil prices are plummeting. Deregulation is happening. You know, we've got we've got all of these things happening
President Trump is not going to bend. Oil was seventy six dollars. Now, sixty five gasoline prices are going to plummet any other time
That would be the number one story. In fact, if you go to the polls, what will get you elected as president
Much cheaper gasoline or Wall Street crying? I'm just being honest about it. Right
So, yeah, people have these stocks in their 401ks. And guess what? We've been through it. There's a correction on average every year
There's a bear market every couple of years. Oil prices down, I think, about 15 percent since the announcement of tariffs
I would imagine it also matters to you when you go to the bank and look for a mortgage on your home
30-year mortgage rates also, like oil, trending lower. The fundamentals of the American economy, including unemployment, look strong, despite the fluctuations of the market
Meanwhile, MSNBC host Jen Psaki, CNN yst Harry Enten and MSNBC host Ari Melber shared these takeaways about a U.S. recession
As for Larry Fink, who's the CEO of the world's largest money manager, BlackRock, he said today that his fellow CEOs believe we're already in a recession
And Mark Cuban, not exactly a Trump supporter, I know, but he's a legit billionaire and someone who calls it like he sees it
And he said that if the new tariffs stay in place for multiple years and are enforced and inflationary and Doge continues to cut and fire, we will be in a far worse situation than 2008
Worse than 2008 is very, very bad to state perhaps the very obvious
There's the market, but then there's the chance of broader economic problems
And that chance is right. That possibility is rising, right? Yeah, that's exactly right. A chance of a recession, something none of us want to see
And what's the chance of a recession? I mean, J.P. Morgan, look at this, now up to 60 percent. It was 40 percent in early March
How about Goldman Sachs? It was 20 percent in early March. We're now up to 35 percent
The worst could still be yet to come. The tariff failure, risking a full blown recession
The dumping of so many American stocks reflects what I mentioned, the combined views of many, many investors rejecting Trump's economic actions
Even some normally pro CEOs now warning this is the Trump recession It likely you agree with one sentiment or the other based on your own political beliefs
Bias Breakdown is a podcast meant to break down the political biases in reporting
We all have our own biases, as some of you are upfront about in the comments section
which I can appreciate. And some of you also can appreciate getting a glimpse of what news
people are consuming from the other side of the political aisle. Besides pointing out the
different narratives, we like to try and steer you toward the facts we know and be honest about what
we don't know. As of this recording, which uses data through Monday's closing, as I'm scripting
this Tuesday, markets saw $10 trillion in global value wiped in three days. The Nasdaq is in a bear
market after falling 20 percent below its recent all-time high. The S&P 500 was down as low as 17
percent. The numbers are the worst recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic. High-profile recession
outlooks have ticked higher since Trump's tariffs were enacted. It's also true that several countries
are coming to the table looking to negotiate. The European Union, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Taiwan
and Israel have all offered zero for zero tariffs. Trump administration officials say
as many as 70 countries have called for a deal. Trump saying Tuesday, South Korea has a top team
on a plane on its way to the U.S. to negotiate after Israel visited Monday. While deals are in
the works, it's still unclear when Trump may accept any proposals and rescind any tariffs
As of Tuesday afternoon, stocks are recouping some losses, up across the board roughly 2.5% as of now
It's hard to cover a story about stocks because it's ever-changing. By the time the edits and graphics are in on this story, stocks could be even higher or have seen another dip
In summary, the stock market has seen its share of volatility over the last few days in response to Trump's tariffs
Left-leaning media are sounding the recession alarm, pointing the finger at Trump's policies
Right-leaning media are calling the market volatility temporary, forecasting a boom, and giving Trump the credit. News outlets with a left and right political bias are picking the data
and talking points to come up with stock market predictions that best fit their political narrative
And that's your bias breakdown. Thanks for watching this week's episode. If you found us on YouTube or social media
remember, you can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms
It's a really busy news cycle. There's a lot going on, so it was hard to choose the topic
for this week's episode. There's also a lot of different angles to the tariff story
but I had to narrow it down to the stocks. Otherwise, this episode could have been two
hours long. A big thanks to Ian Kennedy, our video editor, and Allie Caldwell on our graphics
and thank you for watching Bias Breakdown, and I'll see you next time