Ep. 243 - Trump Keeps His Biggest Promise

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on Ben Shapiro’s split assessment of early Trump administration actions: he praises the immigration executive order as legally grounded and substantively strong, but criticizes Trump’s rhetoric on NAFTA, trade deficits, and voter fraud as driven by ego and misinformation. He also defends Trump’s comments on waterboarding, argues media outrage is selective, and closes with broader commentary on civility, truth, and political accountability.

Main Topics: Trump and Waterboarding (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro argues Trump’s comments favoring waterboarding are politically understandable and possibly effective, while noting Trump would defer to Mattis and Pompeo. He disputes media framing that waterboarding is obviously torture and cites intelligence veterans who claim it works. Immigration Executive Order (Priority: 5/5): He strongly endorses Trump’s immigration executive order, saying it properly uses existing law to expand enforcement, support state cooperation, target sanctuary cities, and strengthen border security without overstepping constitutional bounds. NAFTA, Mexico, and the Wall (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro supports border enforcement in principle but criticizes Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for the wall and his threats to cancel NAFTA talks, arguing trade deficits are misunderstood and harming Mexico could worsen migration pressures. Voter Fraud and Election Integrity (Priority: 4/5): He supports investigating voter fraud and strengthening voter ID but rejects Trump’s claim that millions of illegal votes swung the election, calling the evidence weak and the anecdotes hearsay-driven and unreliable. Media Bias and Political Narratives (Priority: 3/5): Shapiro says the media often ignores pro-life and conservative events while overreacting to Trump, which he believes increases Trump’s popularity among voters who distrust press coverage. Truth, Civility, and Presidential Behavior (Priority: 5/5): He argues that Trump’s lying about crowd size and other matters is not a harmless troll tactic but a sign of petty narcissism, and warns that conservatives cannot abandon truth simply because the left also lies. Mailbag: Rights, Crime, and Social Policy (Priority: 2/5): In audience Q&A, Shapiro defines rights as pre-political protections against harm, supports decriminalizing some victimless acts, and discusses anti-Semitism, charity, and limits on government welfare involvement.

Key Arguments: The immigration order is presented as lawful because it operates within existing congressional authority rather than rewriting law by executive fiat. Border security is a legitimate state function; building a wall is compared to fencing a house and to barrier systems used by other countries. Mexico paying for the wall is politically symbolic but economically secondary; Trump should prioritize effective policy over vindictive rhetoric. Trade deficits are not inherently harmful; the real issue is government debt and the use of surplus dollars to buy U.S. bonds rather than invest in business. Trump’s voter-fraud claims are unsupported; database inaccuracies and duplicate registrations do not equal proven fraudulent votes. Investigating voter fraud and tightening election procedures is still worthwhile because election legitimacy matters. Conservatives should not adopt the left’s relativism; lying remains wrong even when used against disliked opponents. Media bias is real, especially in coverage of the March for Life and conservative events, and selective outrage undermines trust. Trump’s obsession with crowd size and image reflects ego rather than strategic deception. A republic depends on truthfulness and accountability; if lies become acceptable tools, democratic legitimacy erodes.

Data Points: Wall cost estimate: about $15 billion - Estimated cost mentioned for building the border wall Additional law enforcement officers: 10,000 - Number the executive order allows DHS to hire Alternative staffing target: 20,000 - Shapiro says this would be a better number, referencing prior immigration proposals Waterboarding count for KSM: 183 times - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was cited as being waterboarded repeatedly Public support for waterboarding: almost two-thirds - Poll from last March said Americans thought waterboarding was appropriate for suspected terrorists Waterboarding opposition: 15% - Poll share that thought waterboarding should be ruled out entirely Trade deficit with Mexico: $60 billion - Trump cited this in his tweet about NAFTA and the wall Illegal voters claim: 3 to 5 million - Trump’s repeated claim about illegal votes in the election Non-citizens in the U.S.: about 22 million in 2010 - Used to argue Trump’s fraud claim would imply implausibly large numbers of illegal votes Crowd size estimate: more than a million - Trump referenced the March for Life crowd as very large Crowd size claim: the biggest ever - Trump said his audience/crowd was the biggest ever during the interview

Pivotal Quotes: "Do I feel it works? Absolutely, I feel it works." — Donald Trump: Trump discussing waterboarding and whether he would support it if legally permitted "A nation without borders is not a nation." — Donald Trump: Trump speaking at DHS about immigration enforcement and border security "I can be the most presidential person ever, other than possibly the great Abe Lincoln, all right?" — Donald Trump: Trump discussing his image and presidential style

Implications: The episode frames early Trump governance as a mix of substantive conservative wins and self-defeating rhetoric. For listeners, the takeaway is that policy may improve while Trump’s credibility issues, media clashes, and factual errors remain a major political liability.