Media predicts recession or boom amid tariffs, stock volatility: Bias Breakdown

Welcome to Bias Breakdown. I'm your host, Kara Rucker

There's been volatility in the stock market since President Trump's tariffs went into effect

The media is reacting, yzing, making predictions, and it's everything from a recession to a market boom

With so many different voices, let's cut through the noise. That's the focus of today's Bias Breakdown

Join Straight Arrow News. See the slant. Avoid the bias. When others skew the facts, we give you the truth down the center

Welcome to Bias Breakdown. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Today we're standing up for the American worker and we are finally putting America first

And starting tomorrow, the United States will implement reciprocal tariffs on other nations

Last Wednesday, Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts

a baseline 10% tariff on all countries and higher rates for countries that Trump called

the worst offenders, countries imposing some of the highest tariffs, plus the value of any trade barriers on U.S. goods. In response to China's 67% tariff on U.S

goods, the U.S. is adding a 34% tax on imported Chinese products on top of an already 20% tax

previously implemented over fentanyl. That could go up by 50% this week because of China's

retaliatory moves. That means China could end up with a 104% tariff. As for other countries facing

some of the highest tariffs on their goods shipped to the U.S., Vietnam, 46%, Taiwan at 32%

India, a 26% tariff, and the European Union with a 20% tariff. All of these tariff

rates are about half of the tariff rate being imposed on U.S. goods into their countries

Trump's tariff announcement came with plenty of coverage with outlets leaning in. Fox News on the

right touted the importance of Liberation Day. Happy Liberation Day. Today, Donald Trump

fundamentally changed the country as we know it. This is the biggest shift in economic policy since

World War II when we liberated Europe and Asia. 47 says we're now liberating ourselves from

globalization. Five American presidents helped dig us into this trade deficit hole that we

currently find ourselves in. And only one, Donald Trump, had the guts to try to dig us out

It is liberation day in America. And tonight we will shatter the myths surrounding Donald Trump's

American first economic vision. And networks on the left, MSNBC and CNN

calling the president's tariffs a bad idea. And is there any positive take on this

Well, I can answer the second question first. I don't think there's a single positive take on this

This is all just bad It bad as we talked about before for inflation It bad for economic growth It bad for everything Tariffs on basically the entire world will do what for the economy It will send it into reverse Let there be no doubt about this The president said today a whole

load of economic nonsense. 24 hours after Donald Trump intentionally detonated a bomb in the heart

of the most resilient economy on the planet, the sights and sounds of his failure to protect the

American people's pocketbooks are everywhere. These clips come from some of the network's

top rated programs with millions of viewers. We like to do these comparison soundbites

or as we call them, sots, to show the contrast in coverage on major news stories on some of the

top watch news programs in the country. So if someone were to only consume news from a network

on one side of the political aisle, it's clear they would only get one perspective when it's

clear there are multiple narratives. Now, most of the news coverage since Trump's announcement

has been focused on the stock market. Let's go through some of the numbers first

then look again at the news coverage. At the close of trading Thursday, the first full day

following Trump's tariffs, U.S. stocks closed in their worst day since June 2020 during the COVID-19

pandemic. The Nasdaq fell 5.9 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 4.8 percent and the Dow down 3.9 percent

The next day, Friday, a similar tale. The Nasdaq fell 5.82 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 5.97 percent

and the Dow another 5.5 percent down. And when markets opened again Monday and closed for its

third day after Trump's tariffs, the Nasdaq ticked up 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 ticked down 0.23 percent

and the Dow decreased 0.9 percent. The plunge is among the steepest of the last decade

The Trump administration said market volatility was expected, and as Trump was leaving the White

House Thursday, Trump reiterated his stance that the markets will eventually boom from his tariff

policy. The markets today are way down the earth today here because of the terror. So

I'll be told. I think it's going very well. It was an operation like when a patient gets operated on

and it's a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is. The markets are going to boom

The stock is going to boom. The country is going to boom. And in the meantime, the president says

don't panic or be a panicking. Posting to Truth Social Monday, the United States has a chance to

do something that should have been done decades ago. Don't be weak. Don't be stupid. Don't be a

panicking. A new party based on weak and stupid people. Be strong, courageous, and patient

and greatness will be the result. Right-leaning networks have largely shared the prediction

of a market boom citing other economic factors that the country is currently seeing such as lower oil prices inflation and a positive jobs report from Friday All of these things are true

Left-leaning networks are largely highlighting the tariff turmoil could spin the U.S. into a recession

citing economist and billionaire outlooks that have raised the odds of a recession significantly

since the tariffs took effect, which is also true. Like J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying this is now the most perilous economic environment since World War II

Two different sets of information to come up with two different takeaways based on a news outlet's political lean and coverage

Take Fox News business hosts Maria Bartiromo, Charles Payne and Fox News' Will Cain

Rates are plummeting. Oil prices are plummeting. Deregulation is happening. You know, we've got we've got all of these things happening

President Trump is not going to bend. Oil was seventy six dollars. Now, sixty five gasoline prices are going to plummet any other time

That would be the number one story. In fact, if you go to the polls, what will get you elected as president

Much cheaper gasoline or Wall Street crying? I'm just being honest about it. Right

So, yeah, people have these stocks in their 401ks. And guess what? We've been through it. There's a correction on average every year

There's a bear market every couple of years. Oil prices down, I think, about 15 percent since the announcement of tariffs

I would imagine it also matters to you when you go to the bank and look for a mortgage on your home

30-year mortgage rates also, like oil, trending lower. The fundamentals of the American economy, including unemployment, look strong, despite the fluctuations of the market

Meanwhile, MSNBC host Jen Psaki, CNN yst Harry Enten and MSNBC host Ari Melber shared these takeaways about a U.S. recession

As for Larry Fink, who's the CEO of the world's largest money manager, BlackRock, he said today that his fellow CEOs believe we're already in a recession

And Mark Cuban, not exactly a Trump supporter, I know, but he's a legit billionaire and someone who calls it like he sees it

And he said that if the new tariffs stay in place for multiple years and are enforced and inflationary and Doge continues to cut and fire, we will be in a far worse situation than 2008

Worse than 2008 is very, very bad to state perhaps the very obvious

There's the market, but then there's the chance of broader economic problems

And that chance is right. That possibility is rising, right? Yeah, that's exactly right. A chance of a recession, something none of us want to see

And what's the chance of a recession? I mean, J.P. Morgan, look at this, now up to 60 percent. It was 40 percent in early March

How about Goldman Sachs? It was 20 percent in early March. We're now up to 35 percent

The worst could still be yet to come. The tariff failure, risking a full blown recession

The dumping of so many American stocks reflects what I mentioned, the combined views of many, many investors rejecting Trump's economic actions

Even some normally pro CEOs now warning this is the Trump recession It likely you agree with one sentiment or the other based on your own political beliefs

Bias Breakdown is a podcast meant to break down the political biases in reporting

We all have our own biases, as some of you are upfront about in the comments section

which I can appreciate. And some of you also can appreciate getting a glimpse of what news

people are consuming from the other side of the political aisle. Besides pointing out the

different narratives, we like to try and steer you toward the facts we know and be honest about what

we don't know. As of this recording, which uses data through Monday's closing, as I'm scripting

this Tuesday, markets saw $10 trillion in global value wiped in three days. The Nasdaq is in a bear

market after falling 20 percent below its recent all-time high. The S&P 500 was down as low as 17

percent. The numbers are the worst recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic. High-profile recession

outlooks have ticked higher since Trump's tariffs were enacted. It's also true that several countries

are coming to the table looking to negotiate. The European Union, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Taiwan

and Israel have all offered zero for zero tariffs. Trump administration officials say

as many as 70 countries have called for a deal. Trump saying Tuesday, South Korea has a top team

on a plane on its way to the U.S. to negotiate after Israel visited Monday. While deals are in

the works, it's still unclear when Trump may accept any proposals and rescind any tariffs

As of Tuesday afternoon, stocks are recouping some losses, up across the board roughly 2.5% as of now

It's hard to cover a story about stocks because it's ever-changing. By the time the edits and graphics are in on this story, stocks could be even higher or have seen another dip

In summary, the stock market has seen its share of volatility over the last few days in response to Trump's tariffs

Left-leaning media are sounding the recession alarm, pointing the finger at Trump's policies

Right-leaning media are calling the market volatility temporary, forecasting a boom, and giving Trump the credit. News outlets with a left and right political bias are picking the data

and talking points to come up with stock market predictions that best fit their political narrative

And that's your bias breakdown. Thanks for watching this week's episode. If you found us on YouTube or social media

remember, you can also find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms

It's a really busy news cycle. There's a lot going on, so it was hard to choose the topic

for this week's episode. There's also a lot of different angles to the tariff story

but I had to narrow it down to the stocks. Otherwise, this episode could have been two

hours long. A big thanks to Ian Kennedy, our video editor, and Allie Caldwell on our graphics

and thank you for watching Bias Breakdown, and I'll see you next time