Trump triumphs early in his second term, but decisions on TikTok raise questions. Former Justice Department official and leading legal mind John Yoo outlines the tremendous strides Trump is taking to restore national security and the rule of law, but also pitfalls that may diminish his successes. Topics include TikTok, birthright citizenship, impoundment, presidential power, and whether peace with France was unwise.

Trump’s fills out his team strongly with some controversial choices. Will the Senate confirm them and how will they perform? Trump’s threatened tariffs already working magic plus what we know about his negotiating style. Were the Bobs from “Office Space” prototypes for Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? Will DOGE succeed? Plus: how the media makes up sources and whether they have learned anything from Trump’s election. Co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon interview Jeff Berkowitz, CEO of Delve and veteran of multiple successful presidential campaigns.

Timestamps

00:00 Trump transition strong

05:40 Trump’s new team

10:00 Will the Senate confirm?

15:11 Trump tariffs as negotiating strategy

20:00 Will Elon and Vivek succeed?

26:00 Media's fake news sources

38:10 Left scheming to thwart Trump

40:53 Rubio and running national security

47:20 Disassembling bureaucracies

52:32 Milton (“Office Space”) in the basement

Can Trump change the media? On this episode of Domino Theory, Neil Patel, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tucker Carlson Network and the Co-Founder and Publisher of the Daily Caller speaks with co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Topics include the runaway success of the Tucker Carlson Network, whether Trump will dump the hostile White House Correspondents Association and obsolete daily briefing, the impact of big tech censorship on the Daily Caller, the future of media bigs, Elon Musk’s media innovations, and plans for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On this episode of Domino Theory, co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon speak with Elliott Abrams about human rights in a notional Trump II administration. Abrams was as senior official in the Trump, Bush, and Reagan administrations. How did human rights become a woke progressive crusade, including against our allies, and how can a potentially reelected Trump and his top people bring it back to being a tool of unapologetic national power? We also throw around ideas for negotiating with governments like those of China and Russia, which is necessary, while still pressing human rights. BONUS: How the KGB got the attention of Tehran and its hostage-taking puppets in Lebanon.

00:00 How human rights went woke

04:00 Where to start de-Carterizing

07:45 Failure of Arab Spring

09:42 Egypt and Saudi governments are legitimate

15:30 High-information electorate’s impact

19:45 Talk to dictators, but raise human rights

23:55 Americans have gotten wise to Chicoms

29:00 Do democracy orgs still work?

35:50 Why do we allow Iran to threaten assassination?

40:10 Kicking kids of Chinese and Iranian elite out of US schools

44:20 How the KGB dealt with Iranian hostage-takers

We're joined by Garrett Exner from the Hudson Institute, previously a staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz, on this episode of Domino Theory with Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Topics include Kamala Harris's deteriorating campaign and attempt to turn back the clock to appeasing China. 00:00 State of the presidential race01:40 Dolly steps up to help neglected hurricane victims04:40 What Kamala thinks about China and Taiwan 11:13 Who is telling Kamala what to say15:10 Differences between Trump and Kamala in Asia 17:00 Japan and other allies looking to USA20:15 Will whining Korea actually help the USA in war24:58 Taiwan "arts and crafts club" has no connection to MAGA30:33 China probably not ready for war34:40 Filipinos getting pissed at Chico's43:00 Who will win Congress and can Trump do better on personnel46:30 Kamala can't even do friendly media and coherent policy

On Domino Theory, Ned Ryun discusses the state of the 2024 presidential election, including turnout efforts and recent Trump advances in swing states, with co-hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon. Ned also discussed his new book: "American Leviathan: The Birth of the Administrative State and Progressive Authoritarianism."

00:00 Monologue - Trump victory coming into view

06:00 Dems and the unproductive part of the economy

12:18 Voters wising up to unelected bureaucrats

15:10 Whether media can be improved

23:00 Ugly history of progressivism

28:22 Trump got personnel wrong

34:10 Supreme Court opening to help cut administrative sate

40:54 Innovation at at the state level

43:45 The swamp and conformity

45:20 Comedians beating journalists

49:10 American Majority and trends that are helping Trump

In this first episode of "Domino Theory," a reboot of "Simon and Whiton," hosts Christian Whiton and Mark Simon, along with guest Steve Yates, delve into Trump as a shock to both parties and Kamala Harris's attempt in 2024 to redo Biden's 2020 basement campaign. Topics include: China's fentanyl war against America, which claimed the life of Steve's daughter, and why many Americans won't face it, what the Chicoms think about the U.S. election, the phony label of "isolationism," whether Taiwan and the Philippines will fight China, the dying media and what will survive, and why people trust comedians more than journalists.

Christian was an official in the Trump and Bush administrations, a finance guy, and the author of “Smart Power: Between Diplomacy and War.” Mark is a longtime media executive, deputy to imprisoned publisher and dissident Jimmy Lai, and a veteran of Asia-Pacific business and private equity. Steve was a deputy national security advisor in the Bush administration, the chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, and has held a number of other positions in government, business, and at think tanks.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Domino Theory

00:44 Kamala’s Failed CNN Interview

06:36 Chicom View of U.S. politics

10:32 Taiwan’s Confusing Politics

20:51 Trump Outside the System, Not Isolationist

26:12 China’s Fentanyl War on the USA

32:09 The Failing Media and Money

38:12 Are Conservatives Succeeding in Media?

43:36 Christian’s Worst Pitch Ever

46:12 Woke Snowflakes in the Newsroom

Could the Philippines and the South China Sea could be a more likely flashpoint for war with China than Taiwan? How China could be set back 20 years in a conflict. Does the CIA’s old SMICE criteria (sex, money, ideology, compromise, ego) apply to U.S. executives who still bend the knee in Beijing? How demographics paint a grim picture for China, a mediocre one for Vietnam, but a good one for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.