You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM six forty.
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Neil Savadri here, Bill Handled back on Monday, and the whole gang will be here. Happy to be with you this morning. Big day, tariffs coming our way, possibly liberation day. Dun dun duh. Kfi's White House correspondent John Decker is with us. Hey John, good morning.
Hey, good morning to you. Hope you're doing well. That's right. Today is the day that the President will announce his tariff plan. What it will look like? Will it be fifteen percent tariffs across the board for all goods that come into the US. Will it be targeted to specific countries, specific industries. We don't know. The President making that announcement four pm Eastern Time today one pm Pacific, and it
will be in the Rose Garden. I'll be in the Rose Guard, in the President's full cabinet will be in the Rose garden as well. And I have to tell you, Neil, financial markets as well as America's trading partners are on pins and needles because they do not know what this tariff plan will look like.
It's been weird because it's.
Sort of a snowball that started, you know, and then it picked up speed and we thought something was going to happen, then it didn't. Then we finally got a date April second, aka Liberation Day. So today is supposed to be that big tell all this is what's going on, as you say in the Rose Garden. But do Originally it seems like who's gonna be tit for tat right? You know, you do to us, we'll do to you. There were you know, enemies in the pot at first.
Now it's allies. And is there any expectation that you've heard that has any real weight to it or are we really flying blind?
Well, what I can tell you is that America's strongest allies in partners are ready for a trade war. They have retaliatory tariffs already ready to go, ready to essentially pull the trigger on these retaliatory terriffs. And we've seen this playoff before. The President had a tariff policy that he instituted back in twenty eighteen. The European Union responded
with retaliatory tariffs focused on agriculture goods manufactured goods. Harley Davidson was one of those companies that was impacted in a negative sense by those tariffs back in twenty eighteen.
It's one of the reasons, Neil, that Republican US Senator Ron Johnson is very much against the President's tariff policy because those tariffs hurt his state a lot, because it's got a large agricultural sector, a large manufacturing base Harley Davidson based in Milwaukee, and he fears the same thing is going to happen again to his state.
Well, John, we know you got a busy day today and we appreciate you taking time to come on. No doubt, we'll talk tomorrow. John Decker, kfi's White House correspondent there at the White House today in that Rose garden soon with the news conference coming up today our time at one.
Thanks John, Thank you.
So when you think about these tariffs and how they're going to hit us, you got to look at the possibility that it's been proposed, which is Canada Mexico. And although we have the US Mexico Canada Trade Agreement looking at agricultural products, clothing, fruits, vegetables, even dairy and with Mexico, Trump says that the tariffs really on Mexican goods are intended to crack down on drug drugs coming over border policy stuff Canada.
It's a little harder sell on that.
Not a lot of drugs come over from Canada, not a lot of issues come over from Canada.
In the same way, in the same sense.
The reciprocal tariffs are the stuff that made the most sense to me right off the top. It's like, Hey, if you're gonna hit us, we're gonna hit you back. We're tired of being the welcome matt and constantly well where America, you guys are bigger, you guys have a strong economy, and we're going to take advantage of that.
That stuff should be over.
It doesn't mean we got to be d's about it or anything like that, but there's a point where you go, hey, we can't be the world's tea anymore. What you know, if you've got these groups, organizations and countries saying, hey, stop being the world's police, stop going in and supplying arms and weaponry to X, Y and Z all these well you know what, then we shouldn't be supplying money either unless it benefits us. Unless if we're going to be lenders, what are we being paid back? What do
we the whole America. First thing, I'm I'm often confused why Americans have a problem with doing what every other country does on the planet, and that is, hey, we got to take care of our home first. I love the people on my block where I live, but I got to take care of my house first.
I have to protect them. I mean, I.
Maybe shouldn't say this, but I do get some supplies in our earthquake stuff. I pat it a little bit, knowing that my neighbor's flanking me or things like that that, you you know, be neighborly and think, hey, if I can put other stuff in here that might help my neighbors. You know, I don't tell them that. I guess I might have just told them that. But that's one thing. But you have if we all take care of ourselves, then we won't need help from everyone else.
Right.
So it's one of those things that at some point you got to say, hey, we have to look after ourselves.
Maybe not do it.
In the current tone, but we'll see how this plays out. I'm sure tomorrow is going to be a big day. As far as what comes after this, I can imagine it's when does the when do Amy King. When does the stock exchange close.
At the hard time?
Right?
Because I was gonna say, doesn't that hit at the same time this information is going to be coming out?
No, they delayed the ceremony, so it'll come out after Actually I think, hold on, let me get a final.
Yeah, because I was just curious that I always remember it as one. So I'm like, well, wouldn't that hit at the same time that this announcement, so we won't know.
The announcement's going to be at four pm, which is at one pm, so it'll be right after the stock market right to that.
I'm getting East Coast and West Coast. I'll screwed up, all right. Val Kilmer passed away. What you know, I know that he's gone through a lot, but when you think he's he was only sixty five years old and he had an interesting attitude and energy. If you haven't seen the documentary Vow, I encourage you to do.
So.
It's this is a guy who video and probably.
Filmed I'm trying to think how early on a lot of his life and so put it together in this documentary and it tells you a lot about him. But you know, depending on your age, you may have certain favorites of him as far as his films, Oliver Stone's The Doors, which was wonderful. I loved him in this bizarre role. He played Elvis, kind of an imaginary Yoda type figure that shows up in True Romance with Christian Slater, and I love that film. True Romance, Violent as hell,
very dark. It was written by Quentin Tarantino, but not directed by him. It was directed by Tony Scott. I think fabulous film. But he plays you know this, if I remember correctly, he's kind of blurry in the back, sort of you'd never really see.
Him defined, and I liked him a lot in that.
I also liked him in the you know, silly stuff, the slapstick stuff like Top Secret or Real Genius. In like Real Genius, he was sort of like Ryan Reynolds before Ryan Reynolds was Ryan Reynolds kind of dead panty smart ass in those movies, and I always enjoyed him. Thought a handsome guy. The you know they say that a true actor that really captures the audience is whether they're male or female. If they're male, every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to be with him.
And if it's female. Every girl wants to be heard, every guy wants to be with them, that type of thing, right, And I thought he had that kind of magnetism about him. He's fun to watch, seemed to imbibe himself in the character and the fact that his life took a turn in twenty fourteen with throat cancer. And if I remember, he was kind of on the verge of a comeback
of sorts. He had started doing Mark Twain on stage, a one man show, and I think a lot of people raise their eyebrows, remember raising my brows to him playing Moses on stage. And I remember they approached me as the producer of the Jesus Christ Show to maybe do a sit down with him or something, and I have a vague recollection of maybe talking to him on the phone. But you know, he was really going back
to the stage. I believe he was trained at Juilliard and here he has this timing where he was putting his own money into this stage show of him playing Mark Twain. I think he did a couple.
Of them and.
Then started like coughing blood or having issues and then found out that he had throat cancer. So he was at this point where he was putting his own money into himself. He was reinventing himself. He was charging ahead with this new opportunity that he believed in. And then right then and there, twenty fourteen, is diagnosed with throat cancer surgeries, all of those things took his voice away
from him. He used one of those devices that you put up to your throat that can get to help you make some sounds as a whole in his throat as well. But I remember watching the documentary val it was very interesting to see how he went through that time period and still found some positivity in those things. In his children, he was divorced but still had a relationship with his ex wife and you know, as co
parents and all of that stuff. But what a way to go somebody who was so versatile, so talented, handsome, you know, a striking fella, to have that kicking the balls later in the career, and then to die of pneumonia, which still is one of those things like you know it's serious, but it always seems like you'll get better. Right, you got pneumonia, you're gonna be you can get better.
But it's a sad end to an illustrious career, and one that you saw in so many different ways playing Batman, although I'm not saying he is the best Batman or anything. I think I was looking at a earlier I think it was Entertainment Weekly or something like that, and they were listing them all. Let's see, I'm gonna scroll through this real quick. Okay, So Keanu Reeves was number ten. I guess he played Batman in DC League of Super Pets of.
It's a cartoon. George, I know, I didn't know about that one either.
George Clooney was number nine, and if I remember Will Arnett, who does the lego Batman, who I love by the way, is number eight, and then Val Kilmer hits number seven. Now, if I remember correctly, Val Kilmer was the first time they put nipples on the batsuit.
Yeah, and I just saw it at the Warner Brothers.
Yeah. Tour weird, I think.
And then I think that extended on to Clooney as well, and then it went away. I don't know who said, you know what this suit needs nerps, Let's throw some nerps on there. But God bless him rest in peace. Val Kilmer passed away at the age of sixty five due to pneumonia.
Sad.
Sad said, Now avocados today one o'clock our time. Of course, we are going to be hearing from the President. It is liberation Day, as he has called it. He is deemed this liberation Day. We're looking at the possibility of sweeping new tariffs, how that affects us. So you're going to be hearing that throughout the entirety of the day here on KFI. Of course you will hear Gary and Shannon talk about it leading up to the announcement, and then you'll have John Cobelt at one.
So stick around go nowhere. So what is this going to mean?
Well, we haven't looked at these types of tariffs or hits with Mexico and Canada. But how it's going to hit us in Mexico is with avocados.
Now do we have California avocados? Yes, we do. Are they fabulous? Yes they are.
The difference between US and Mexico is the regions in Mexico are set up in such a way that they can grow avocados year round.
We cannot. So we.
Technically have an avocado season here in California, but in Mexico they can squeeze out longer periods, which makes them a larger producer of this wonderful fruit. So if you love avocados, you got to be going not again. We've gone through problems with limes before. Avocados are one that gets nailed. Some of them have been for weird reasons. I remember the limes at one point, and this might have been with avocados as well. Had to do with
the cartel. So the drug cartel's getting involved, and so there's all kinds of messes that have happened before. But this would be self induced with the tariffs that could be slept on Mexico today and will I'm guessing we just will know as to what that will be. So this threatens this trade fight with Mexico, which accounts for ninety percent of US avocado imports.
That's the imports.
You got to read the language there, properly ninety percent of US avocado imports. We do have our own avocados here as well. So you've got companies like Chipotle who have been preparing for this for seven years. They go back, they're always looking because in a supply chain. And again I you know, listening to the promo for Gary and Shannon and then a conversation I had with Shannon yesterday about car parts, not just the cars, but the parts.
You get this global system going, and it's not just about having something produced or made here in the United States, because some the parts can be made somewhere else. It's a long process, that's the reality. But when it comes to a business like Chipotle that has, you know, a butt ton of location. They have thirty seven hundred locations, that's a lot of locations, and guacamole tends to land on.
Half their orders.
So half the order is coming out of each of those restaurants are going to have guacamole in some form.
On there.
So they constantly have to think, well, one, we got to start scouring the Americas the Caribbean.
We need to seek out.
Farms and suppliers that satisfied their intense demand. This California based fast casual restaurant that we love so much. Chipotle estimates that it bought around five percent of all avocados consumed in the US last year. I butt the I consumed the other ninety five personally, one sitting, So that's a crap ton of avocados. And so they're looking everywhere. Now if you remember back in March there was like a twenty five percent tariff slapped on Mexico just for
a few days, and they were bracing for that. Now they're looking all over the world, well not everywhere, because not everywhere can grow, but they're looking everywhere to be able to find a more consistent path so that they don't have to raise that cost or passing on to us. And they have looked in other areas that have Like
Peruvian and Colombian avocados are a little different. They're often lighter, little greener, and it confuses sometimes when they show up at the door of a particular location of chipotles, because they're like, well, this doesn't look right, let's send them back. They're like, don't send them back all and this is cool. All avocados that show up on the doorstep of your local chipotlet are ripe. They're ready to go, so they
don't let them sit there or anything like that. They're ripe and ready to go, and they you know, have the recipe and now I want now, I want guacamole so bad, the smooth What what the the difference in the avocado, Well, there's fort day, there's bacon, there's hass or hass hass. There's different kinds of avocados, the different strings, and was asking me, well, the smooth and the bumpy, So it depends on, uh, the smoother, the smoother, slick one waxy ones. I think that's fort day, which are
the better ones. Has is what we're used to. Our hass is what we're used to. I can't remember if it's a long it's two a's, but I think it's ass. That's what we're used to. That's what we eat. They're very creamy, fuerte, like the name implies, is a little
more hearty, little denser flash. But really for your guacamole and all that stuff, we tend to stick with that hass, which was locally discovered I think in Altadena area, all right, headlined very powerful cancer researchers, opioid abuse analysts, infectious disease experts.
Layoffs at the HHS begin to take shape, some twenty thousand employees, it looks like at this point, as they continue to they being the current administration, Trump and of course Doze going through with Elon Musk and picking apart what probably should have been done a long time ago. I mean every administration should every four years, if there is an new administration, they should go through and cut the fat. You know, have you ever changed you know,
it's tax time. Have you ever changed a CPA or your tax.
Preparer?
And they say, hey, we want to look at last year's as well to see if we can save you any more money. They tend to do that, and they can say, hey, listen, there's a couple of things the last person miss will do this. That should be like the standard to me anytime a new administration comes in, not just to play tit for tat in the whole Okay, they did this, we're going to eradicate that, but to go through and say, hey, is there anywhere where we
can cut? That should be first and foremost of any administration. Not always the case, I think, you know. Obama certainly had said, hey, listen, we're going to make some cuts, and it's going to be the things that you care about, and it's going to hurt.
That's what cuts are. So as you.
List the names or of the jobs, or the titles opioid abuse, now analyst, cancer research, I know those are scary things to be cutting, but if you go to the what they refer to as the rank and yank approach made popular by the philosophy of former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, which people think is, you know, the god among gods when it comes to business. He referred to it as stack ranking or forced ranking. And they've
even done that stuff here at iHeart. Maybe it was clear channel at the time, but I remember them testing us, quizzing us, and going through all these things because the thought is that you should identify and remove the bottom twenty percent of twenty percent of employees to improve overall performance and of course productivity.
Any chance you.
Get the bottom twenty percent. So when you have about what is at eighty thousand people that work in these departments together and you're cutting twenty it's a little more than twenty percent there.
But I will say this, don't get caught.
Up in the emotional aspect. Aspect aspect, that's the word I'm looking for of it, because that's what we do. You hear opioid abuse an analyst during this time, infectious disease, these are all trigger words that are going to make us go, oh my god, the cancer is going to go rampant, and opioid abuse is already rampant, and COVID Part two comes.
It's like we're going to get in that mindset. We still have to look.
At why people will let go, if the system will run on what is left over and what it saves us. The balance of these things are what's going to be important. So I keep trying to want to insert the little reason into the emotion of everything. Yes, it's scary when people get fired. Yes, there will be people that get fired and brought back. That happens even here. They do wide sweep, sweeping stuff sometimes and then they go up. We cut a little too lean. We're gonna need X,
Y and Z bag. That happens in any business. But this isn't new to Trump or anyone else. The well praised ge CEO Jack Welsh was very much along the lines of that twenty percent stack ranking, forced ranking, rank and yank, whatever you want to call it. You get those bottom twenty percent and you get rid of them because things will work better. We'll have to see. This is a KFI heard everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
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