From Pelosi to Tariffs - A Great Thing for America – Top 3 Takeaways, November 7th, 2025
Takeaway #1: A Great thing for America
That was what President Trump had to say to Fox’s Peter Doocy in response to the news that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced her planned retirement from Congress at the conclusion of her current term yesterday. I’m 45 years old. I was seven when she first assumed her seat in the House of Representatives. This is to say that I don’t really remember a time when Nancy Pelosi wasn’t in Congress, and that for those who’d love to see congressional term limits she’s exhibit “A” to make your case. But here’s the other thing that came to mind yesterday when I was thinking about the era of Pelosi coming to an end. For most of that time she was the example of what a radical liberal looked like from a point of policy. A term that was and occasionally still is bandied about in conservative circles “a San Francisco liberal” was made popular by her rise to prominence within the Democrat Party culminating in her multi-decade role in Congressional leadership including her multiple terms as House Speaker. To be sure there would have been a time that I would have thought that Pelosi calling it a career would have been “a great thing for America”, but today, with the Democrat Party on the verge of going full Mamdani commie...I don’t actually agree with President Trump on this one. Here’s why. Did you know that over the past ten years only 33 House Democrats have voted in a more bi-partisan way than Nancy Pelosi? In fact, did you know that Nancy Pelosi co-sponsored 14% of the legislation proposed by Republicans over the past decade that eventually became a law? And here’s the thing. I’m not making a case about how, from a conservative’s perspective, Nancy Pelosi has been misunderstood all of these years. She hasn’t been.
Takeaway #2: She’s still the San Fran lib she’s always been
But what she has been is consistent. The fact is that twenty years ago Pelosi was the liberal standard bearer in this country – and with reason. What’s different is the state of the Democrat Party. Pelosi, who was once as liberal of a member of congress by way of voting record as there was, has a voting record that’s now “more conservative” than 83% of her party. In a week that’s featured the next major step in the socialist takeover of the Democrat Party with the insurgence of Zohran Mamdani and the AOC-Bernie wing of the Party...Pelosi’s exit provides a perfect contrast over how far down the commie road the Democrat Party has already traveled. And here’s the next thing about her exit not being a “great thing” for America. Nancy represents San Francisco. This is now the age of Mamdani. What do you think the odds are that the constituents of that district replace her with someone who turns out to be one of the most moderate members of congress? Is it not far more likely that we’re going to instead get San Fran’s version of AOC/Mamdani? Her exit will only take her party even further left and that’s not a great thing for this country. But something that is...
Takeaway #3: The death of Trump’s tariffs
It was on March 17th in advance of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs that I said this: As a free trader by nature, I’ve never been a tariff person. And on November 7th I’m still not. The bottom line is if I was president for a day I wouldn’t put tariffs in place. But what I did say back in March and at varying point at times throughout the year is that President Trump is right that the U.S. has historically been taken advantage of on trade over the years with U.S. companies and at times consumers getting the short end of the stick. And I’ve also said that the tariff fears in Trump’s first term proved to be dead wrong as inflation was never an issue, and the limited tariffs, he put in place proved to be effective. I’ve also illustrated why the Liberation Day tariff fears were overblown and how and why it would be that most of the tariff expense would be addressed on the foreign and corporate end of the equation as opposed to being passed straight through to consumers. But still, there has been some impact, even if small, on consumers. In my most recent economic analysis, I brought you this: During the first three quarters of a year of the Trump administration wage growth has outpaced inflation by 1.8%. There are several factors weighing into this phenomenon, however one of the largest is a dynamic I’ve highlighted with each of the monthly job reports in recent months. There are 1.1 million fewer “foreign-born” workers amid a total of 2 million deportations that have taken place through the first nine months of the Trump administration. Effectively, illegal immigrants in the workforce were suppressing wages and taking job opportunities from legal citizens. And it’s been the deflationary impact of Trump’s immigration policy that resulted in economists overestimating the net inflation impact of tariffs. However, my analysis has also showed that somewhere between 1.3% to 1.7% of the current inflation rate is directly attributable to the Trump tariff policy. While the overall rate of inflation is lower than it was before, and while it’s true that the average American, average family has been slightly able to get ahead, it’s still producing a higher rate of inflation than would otherwise be. The most recent inflation rate was 3%. Effectively without the Trump tariff policy the inflation rate would be cut in half to something just north of 1% which would allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to less than half of where they are today (or perhaps even lower as inflation would be below the Fed’s 2% target rate). The calculation right along is whether the foreign policy effects of the Trump tariff policy were worth a slightly higher cost of living. Looking around the economy today, and with affordability concerns that are still the top concerns for most Americans, if they had a vote, they’d almost certainly vote no. But as I broke down yesterday the Supreme Court is likely to vote “no” in striking down Trump’s tariff policy which ironically could be one of the best things that could happen for him and the GOP heading into next year’s midterm elections. A ruling that comes down this year would provide enough time for the effects of lower prices and lower inflation to be felt well before next November. It could be a great thing for America.