Trump Top Advisor Busted Betting Against Own Deals

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2:25Michael Popok:Well, the smart money move is to bet against Donald Trump's tariffs and to bet that in the near future, another court like the Court of International Trade, maybe the United States Supreme Court, is going to find that Donald Trump improperly exercised economic emergency powers that he doesn't have to impose tariffs on 120 or 130 countries. That's the smart move. Bet against it, hedge it, bet that it's going to fail. I just didn't expect the major Wall Street bank and firm formerly owned and now currently owned by the Commerce Secretary's sons to make that bet to offer to its customers that they should bet against the Trump administration.

3:07Michael Popok:When the daddy ambassador is out there selling and shilling tariffs, I don't think the son should be running a company to try to benefit on their failing. You heard me right, everybody. You're on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. Kenner Fitzgerald, which for over 30 years was run by Howard Lutnick, your commerce secretary. His sons, who are under 30 years old, who now run the company since he, quote unquote, turned it over to them. They are offering as part of their investment bank to buy your overpayment for tariffs if you're a company, and they'll give you a sense on the dollar, hoping that the tariffs fail in the courthouse.

3:52Michael Popok:I'm Michael Popok. I'm going to break it all down for you right here on the Midas Touch Network. As a lot of people know, I worked at Cantor Fitzgerald at one time. I have no insider knowledge. This is just my observations of what is happening. It's very simple. Howard Lutnick is on network television, financial services television, Bloomberg, MSNBC, anybody that'll have them twice on Sunday to pump up the tariffs. He brags that we're going to love, the American people are going to love this deal. They're going to love this two weeks. This next two weeks is going to be historic. They're going to love all the deals that I'm making.

4:29Michael Popok:Except Cantor Fitzgerald announced and confirmed, as Wired and other news agencies reported that they've set up a business within their CF and Co. Cantor Fitzgerald and Co. run by a few investment bankers, you know, that work under the Suns to sell a product. And the product is bring us your overpaid tariffs. Let's say I'm a company. Let's just do the scenario. I'm a company. I have to pay on these new tariffs illegally legally imposed by Donald Trump, an extra, let's fill in the gap,$10 million. So I pay$10 million more than I think I have to. And if those tariffs fail, I'll get a refund for$10 million.

5:10Michael Popok:But I sell my claim and my ability to get a refund to Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick's old company, and they buy it for$2 million. How does Cantor Fitzgerald make money? Because when those tariffs fail, Well, they'll go and collect the full 10 million and they only paid 2 million for it. So they made$8 million and they claim they're going to do this hundreds of millions of dollars worth of times. What does that say about the integrity and the values, not the least of which the optics, of the Commerce Secretary's own company figuring out a way to make money off the failure of the tariffs that he promotes?

5:55Michael Popok:I mean, I have to take a pause there. It's so mind numbingly stupid. There are so many businesses that his former company, Cantor Fitzgerald, could be involved with and are involved with. They're making money hand over fist in cryptocurrency. Do you ever wonder why this administration is the king of crypto and Donald Trump is so heavily invested in crypto and so heavily invested in in in coming up with ways to expand the market? Because he owns billions of dollars of cryptocurrency assets. The president does. And those around him do, too. Howard Lutnick's company is tied to a company, no pun intended, called Tether and Stablecoin.

6:34Michael Popok:And they're buying and selling and doing business and wraparounds and products around cryptocurrency like there's no tomorrow. And they're making money hand over fist. According to their own postings on news releases on Cantor Fitzgerald's website, they've increased their revenue by about 50 % since Howard Lutnick's been in office. Now, they all claim that Howard Lutnick is ethical and that it's not that they're getting any inside information. They just know how Trump works and how Howard works and how Musk's work. And so they're lapping the field. What does that sound like to you? But here, but there's so many different businesses to grift and make money on off the back of Daddy Warbucks.

7:14Michael Popok:Sorry, Daddy Lutnick being in the administration at the commerce secretary level. Do you have to open up a business to bet against Donald Trump and that bet that he fails? I mean, if I were if I were Trump, I'd call Lutnick in and say, what is going on with your former company and why are they betting against tariffs while you're the primary disciple of tariffs on television? Here's Lutnick about tariffs. Well, you heard in our polling some of the perceptions of the economy. Sixty one percent of Americans believe the administration is putting too much focus on tariffs. Seventy percent say the administration is not doing enough to lower prices and 60 percent oppose new tariffs on imported goods.

8:03This is a centerpiece to your policy plan. How do you reverse public opposition? oh they're going to love the deals that president trump and i are doing i mean they're just going to love them you know the president figured out the right answer and sent letters to these countries said this is going to fix the trade deficit this will go a long way to fixing the trade deficit and that's gotten these countries to the table and they're going to open their markets or they're going to pay the tariff and if they open their markets the opportunity for americans to export, to grow the business, farmers, ranchers, fishermen.

8:43This is going to be, the next two weeks are going to be weeks for the record books. President Trump is going to deliver for the American people.

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10:12Michael Popok:He had that big, Howard, need the board. Howard runs up with the board. That's Howard Lutnick. This group is completely out of tune with the suffering of America, right? Howard Lutnick brags in the same interview, he brags about how low inflation is and that we're enjoying historically low inflation. Who's enjoying 3%, almost 3 % inflation year over year and a 0.3 uptick in a month? Who's enjoying that? Billionaires like Howard? They must be enjoying it because the average American that was already struggling for basics and basic dignity and health care and food and how their kid was going to pay for school supplies.

10:56Michael Popok:And now that all the states have been defunded by, including red states, by Donald Trump, how they're going to pay for basic necessities. And now those all went up another 3 percent. Where are they going to get it from? where their 401k, the Roth IRA, their ESOP for the big corporation they work for, their retirement plan, where? Their Cantor Fitzgerald partnership units? Where are they getting this money from? And then at the same time, let me show you the clip of him bragging about inflation. I was asking about consumer prices, what people will pay when they go to the store. But in it's that you don't want to be low.

11:36I think they'll be low. Shockingly low. OK, the consumer price index doesn't doesn't currently reflect that, though, that the trend is towards higher. Well, it just went up. Would it go up a tenth of a percent? Look, the dollar has declined on the core more than 10 percent. Right. So the dollar declining sort of softens tariffs completely. These are small numbers. you're going to see inflation is not going to change. Remember, inflation is an expectation of rates continuing to grow. Tariffs are just going to reset the price level for imports, for certain imports from certain countries.

12:16Michael Popok:And at the same time, while you and I are suffering, his Marie Antoinette moment as the Commerce Secretary, similar to always similar to Donald Trump, is the let them eat cake moment. You know, the people here, the citizens are starving. They don't have bread. Well, let them eat cake. Is Howard Lutnick laughing about a$1 ,200 bottle of tequila that he was gifted? Let's run that clip. This is cool. How about that? That's amazing. And I love extra mayo.

12:58Michael Popok:So somebody's got a lot of explaining to do. The next time he's on some sort of network television show, and I invite him to come on Legal AF. Want to come on and have a conversation? Come on and have a conversation. Next time, I doubt you'll take that offer. The next time you're on some sort of softball network show, I want one of them to ask him, do you think it's appropriate for your company, your former company, Cantor Fitzgerald, to be betting against Trump's tariffs policy while you're out selling them? So we're going to continue to follow this story. Just shows you that even the administration doesn't believe in its own policies.

13:37Michael Popok:It doesn't believe in its own tariffs. And it certainly has ignored and willfully blinded the suffering of Americans as a result. The polling says the Americans hate tariffs. They hate what it's doing to their economy. All of them think the economic policies of Donald Trump are going to make their life worse. I'm talking 60 and 70 percent in polling data, including in red states, certainly in red states. And yet the administration blithely goes on. You know, just the grand destroyer, destroying everything in its wake under under the rubric of Trump's a non-traditional president that likes to get involved in a lot of different things.

14:17Yeah.

14:19Michael Popok:Why doesn't he just instead of getting involved with a lot of different things? Like the naming of the stadium and the team name for the Washington commanders. why doesn't he do his day job and focus on making americans better off we'll continue to hold his feet to the fire here on the minus touch network and on legal af come on over hit the free subscribe button here and our legal af youtube channel could use a little love as well now more than ever independent commentary and media that's out there with their brass ones out need your support look what's happening in mainstream media look at the heads that are rolling.

14:58Michael Popok:Look at the threats against them. Look at the lawsuits against them. We need your help. And we're not asking for money. No paywall here. Just hit the subscribe button on Legal AF, the YouTube channel, here on the Midas Touch Network, and follow our podcast. Midas Touch, Legal AF, the podcast, of course. And I've got a new one called The Intersection on Tuesday nights, 8 p.m. Eastern time, right here on the Midas Touch Network. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF sub stack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the sub stack.

15:33Michael Popok:You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on sub stack. Come over now to free subscribe.

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