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[00:00:00] You spoke earlier today with students [00:00:02] about this uh this division within the [00:00:04] Republican party of classic [00:00:05] conservativism [00:00:07] versus more of a populist movement. Do [00:00:09] you think that's mostly about economics [00:00:11] or is there a a social aspect of that [00:00:14] division as well? [00:00:15] >> Well, I I think a lot of it has to do [00:00:17] with [00:00:19] size and scope of government, but I [00:00:20] think that chiefly it gives it its [00:00:22] expression in [00:00:25] in a willingness to kind of think in [00:00:28] more um isolationist terms. I mean, for [00:00:32] my part, I [00:00:34] uh we have now marked four years since [00:00:37] Russia's brutal and unprovoked invasion [00:00:39] in Ukraine. [00:00:40] Uh and I've been unwavering in in my [00:00:44] belief that the United States and [00:00:47] Western nations need to continue to give [00:00:49] Ukraine the resources that they need to [00:00:52] defeat the Russian military and reclaim [00:00:55] their sovereignty. [00:00:56] Now, there are those [00:01:04] There are those in Republican ranks [00:01:05] who've questioned that, who actually [00:01:07] advocated cutting off all funding to [00:01:10] Ukraine. But uh I've met Vladimir Putin [00:01:12] and I can tell you I have no doubt in my [00:01:14] mind. If Vladimir Putin overruns [00:01:17] Ukraine, it's just going to be a matter [00:01:19] of time before he crosses a country that [00:01:20] our military [00:01:22] is going to have to deal with it. And [00:01:25] so, um, there's even those that are [00:01:27] questioning our historic support and our [00:01:30] relationship with Israel. Sometimes [00:01:33] there are even some voices on the [00:01:34] fringes that that speak in very dark uh [00:01:38] terms about American support for Israel [00:01:41] uh and the role of Jewish Americans in [00:01:43] the life of our nation. And so, I think [00:01:45] it begins the isolationist, but I also [00:01:48] think the the principles of limited [00:01:51] government. It seems like the Republican [00:01:53] party doesn't talk very much anymore [00:01:56] about a $ 38 trillion national debt. Uh [00:01:59] and the need to to bring common sense [00:02:02] reforms to spare uh our kids and our [00:02:06] grandkids of that of the consequences of [00:02:09] a mountain range of debt. And lastly, [00:02:11] while while our administration in our [00:02:13] four years, you've cut taxes, rolled [00:02:15] back regulations, [00:02:17] um you know, we've seen in this [00:02:19] administration u u you know, expansion [00:02:23] of border taxes in the form of tariffs, [00:02:26] nationalizing [00:02:28] American companies. I think more than a [00:02:30] dozen companies now the government's [00:02:32] taken a a public position in. Um and and [00:02:37] so it's it's that that it's kind of [00:02:40] isolationism, big government [00:02:42] republicanism that I think are the [00:02:44] largest departures. Uh I will say though [00:02:47] um during our administration, we use [00:02:50] tariffs under existing statutory [00:02:52] authority [00:02:53] uh to really try and negotiate down [00:02:57] trade barriers. We actually I'm proud to [00:02:59] say we used the we used tariffs in the [00:03:01] Trump Pence years and the threat of [00:03:03] tariffs uh to bring trading partners to [00:03:06] the table. We imposed tariffs on China [00:03:10] and ultimately achieved the first [00:03:12] breakthrough in trade negotiations with [00:03:14] China in a generation. Um but I took uh [00:03:18] great exception when a year ago [00:03:20] President Trump announced tariffs [00:03:22] against friend and foe alike under an [00:03:24] emergency statute. um uh our small [00:03:28] foundation in Washington DC was one of a [00:03:31] handful of groups that that labored in [00:03:33] the courts in support of legal [00:03:35] challenges. I believe the Constitution's [00:03:38] quite clear that when it comes to taxes [00:03:41] and tariffs, uh those are originated in [00:03:44] the Congress. I don't need to tell [00:03:46] people in Pennsylvania, we're we're [00:03:48] coming up on a very memorable [00:03:49] anniversary, 250 years since the [00:03:52] American founding, the Declaration of [00:03:54] Independence. [00:03:56] crafted just down the road from here. [00:03:59] And you might remember the taxation [00:04:00] without representation was a big part of [00:04:03] that. And as I reminded some of those [00:04:05] students here at Sesuana today, the tea [00:04:08] that went into Boston Harbor was thrown [00:04:10] into Boston Harbor because of tariffs [00:04:13] that had been imposed on by one person. [00:04:16] And so when the founders ultimately [00:04:17] crafted the form of government that's [00:04:19] endured for 239 years, they said that [00:04:22] the congress in article one controls [00:04:26] taxation including impost that are they [00:04:29] it's what they call tariffs in the day. [00:04:31] And I strongly and heartily welcome the [00:04:34] decision by the Supreme Court of the [00:04:37] United States to uphold the separation [00:04:39] of powers and turn back President [00:04:41] Trump's liberation day regime of [00:04:44] tariffs. I think it's a relief for [00:04:46] American businesses, American workers, [00:04:50] and a great affirmation of our [00:04:52] constitutional order.