The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Show (05/12/2025):
3:05pm- Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer met with China’s Vice Premier for Economic Policy He Lifeng in Geneva, Switzerland. By the meeting’s conclusion, an agreement was reached to pause onerous tariffs between the world’s two largest economies for 90-days. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will be reduced from 145% to 30%, while China’s tariffs on American imports will go from 125% to 10%. While speaking from the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump said, “we achieved a total reset with China” and that his administration’s negotiators will continue to seek remedies for China’s unfair trade policies—which have included currency manipulation, unbalanced trade, and intellectual property theft.
3:15pm- On Friday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka alongside Congressmembers Bonnie Watson-Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez visited the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in New Jersey—at one point trespassing which led to a confrontation with ICE officials and the eventual arrest of Mayor Baraka. ICE has released bodycam footage of the altercation which shows Rep. McIver attempting to physically shove past ICE agents. Rich notes that because of the enormous sum of “earned media” surrounding the confrontation, Baraka—a candidate for New Jersey governor—might have a real chance to win the Democratic Party’s primary next month.
3:40pm- According to a report from Politico, internal polling suggests that Senator John Fetterman’s (D-PA) support with Pennsylvania-based Democrats has faded—with only 46% having a “favorable” opinion of him currently.
4:05pm- On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that is intended to lower the price of pharmaceutical drugs domestically—explicitly mentioning a “most favored nation” pricing model which will require companies to charge Americans no more than what they are charging citizens of foreign countries. Currently, Americans typically pay more per drug than Europeans, for example—despite pharmaceuticals being developed in the United States.
4:10pm- While speaking with the press, President Trump hilariously noted he has a “brilliant businessman” friend who is “seriously overweight” and “takes the fat shot drug.” The friend told Trump that he currently pays significantly more for the drug in the United States than he does in London. But which friend was the president talking about? Matt and Justin speculate that it could be Elon Musk. Chat GPT suggests it could be Chris Christie? No chance. Artificial intelligence has failed us.
4:30pm- Bill D’Agostino—Senior Research Analyst at Media Research Center—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to breakdown some of the best (and worst) clips from corporate media: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) dismisses the idea that we are in a constitutional crisis (despite prompts from Meet the Press’s Kristen Welker) + New Jersey Democrats cause a commotion at an ICE detention facility.
5:05pm- Prior to signing an executive order on Monday, President Donald Trump applauded his administration for successfully negotiating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
5:10pm- Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer met with China’s Vice Premier for Economic Policy He Lifeng in Geneva, Switzerland. By the meeting’s conclusion, an agreement was reached to pause onerous tariffs between the world’s two largest economies for 90-days. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will be reduced from 145% to 30%, while China’s tariffs on American imports will go from 125% to 10%. While speaking from the White House on Monday, President Donald Trump said, “we achieved a total reset with China” and that his administration’s negotiators will continue to seek remedies for China’s unfair trade policies—which have included currency manipulation, unbalanced trade, and intellectual property t ...