Washington Journal Open Phones examines President Trump's release of 400 million barrels of oil to combat rising gas prices and his claims of a $35,000 average 401K increase alongside an $18 trillion investment. While Senator Brian Schatz criticizes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for dismissing the Geneva Conventions as "stupid," callers express deep concern over the Ukraine war, Medicaid cuts totaling nearly a trillion dollars, and border security policies. Ultimately, the segment highlights a fractured electorate grappling with inflation, democratic threats, and the moral implications of aggressive foreign policy. [Automatically generated summary]
And I started to realize that this odd little old manuscript contained, you know, the seeds of one of the most extraordinary stories of survival and mayhem I had ever come across.
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Trump will tap oil reserve as Iran war drives up gas prices.
It says that the Energy Secretary Chris Wright said yesterday the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed to President Trump's request to coordinate the release of 400 million barrels of oil and refined products from its reserves.
Consumers are seeing significant price jumps at the pump, and Republicans recognize offsetting that increase is crucial ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Well, that is our topic this morning, and President Trump was at a fulfillment order fulfillment center in Kentucky.
Here's a portion where he talks about the economy.
Taking your calls this morning, take a look at an MBC poll that was done on March 8th, asking what's the most important issue facing the country and at the top, tied for the top, inflation and cost of living at 26% and threats to democracy at 26%.
Then followed by immigration border security is at 13%, jobs and the economy 11%, cost of health care at 7%, and then affordable housing at 6%.
Well, here is Democratic Senator, Brian Chatz of Hawaii.
He was on the Senate floor yesterday talking about Defense Secretary Pete Hegset's handling of the war.
I've got a question for you because this is in today's Washington Times.
It's a commentary, and it's about Glenn Young.
It says, run, Glenn, run.
And this commentator is urging the former governor of Virginia, Glenn Young, to run against Mark Warner for his seat in the Senate.
What do you think of that?
If he were to run, would you vote for him, or would you vote for Mark Warner?
What are you thinking as far as Senate in Virginia?
unidentified
I mean, that's tough because I thought that Glenn Young was a good governor for Virginia.
I think he did a good job.
I don't, the other thing I feel about Glenn Young is he is not somebody that Trump is going to be able to pull around like a cow with a ring in his nose.
I think he's a very independent thinker.
I don't know if that's 100%, but I don't think he is.
I don't think he's a Lindsey Graham type, is what I should say.
Lindsey Graham, you can lead that guy to a bowl of crap and he'll eat it.
The Trump administration, through their big beautiful bill, has really decimated, and they will be decimating the healthcare system.
There are enormous cuts going on in Medicaid, almost a trillion dollars.
The spending bill triggers a half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, not Medicaid, Medicare.
A lot of people don't realize that because of the pay goal laws that we have in this country.
He's not funded an increase in the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.
So people are going to get knocked off with that.
And it's really just a complete decimation of the U.S. health care system, which is really our biggest driver of debt in this country.
And to pretend that he's created something is really laughable.
My other issue, I think, would be the big issue, actually, is what's going on with immigration.
Closing the borders is one thing.
Trying to round up every single person who is undocumented in this country for decades is absurd.
It can't be done without massive civil rights abuses and without causing tremendous chaos and pain and actually an economic demise of this country too, because we do need immigrants.
So I would say those two issues are paramount in my mind.
And this is not to say that, you know, the Democrat alternative I'm satisfied with all the time, but this is just, it's got to stop.
And we've got to wake up and try to have something more reasonable and more focused on what's really going on in this country.