Trump's China Decision, Potential Tax Increase For Rich, Elon Steps Back from DOGE： AM Update 4⧸24
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Summary
As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in Congress is trying to undermine the Trump agenda, a new plan from Sen. Dick Durbin would see the government take control of your credit card, and President Trump considers increasing taxes on the wealthy in his so-called Big Beautiful Tax Bill.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Thursday, April 24th, 2025. And this is your
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AM update. So I think it's going to work out very well. But no, it's at 145 percent. There
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will not be anywhere near that number. President Trump making news on his tariff policy toward
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China. We're trying to remove these public state threats and national security threats as quick
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as possible. They're putting every roadblock imaginable in front of us to prevent us from
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doing that. Porter Czar Tom Homan unleashing on activist groups trying to prevent President
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Trump from deporting criminal illegal aliens and President Trump considering increasing taxes on
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the wealthy in his so-called big, beautiful tax bill. All that and more coming up in just a moment
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on your AM update. As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top
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Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
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And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, Senator Durbin has a new
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plan, a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans have thousands of choices in credit
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cards, but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security,
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which means more risk for your credit and your identity. You can learn more for yourself at
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guardyourcard.org. And you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government
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takeover of your credit card before it's too late.
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The Trump administration offering to de-escalate its tariff war with China,
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weighing a dramatic restructuring of our tariffs on Chinese imports. According to the Wall Street
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Journal, President Trump is considering lowering tariffs on Chinese goods to 50 or 65 percent.
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Currently, they're at 145 percent. He also may impose a tiered system, 35 percent levies on goods not
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considered a threat to national security, and at least 100 percent for goods that do pose that
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threat. The Journal noting the president has yet to make a final decision. On Tuesday, President Trump
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signaling openness to working nicely with the Chinese, making clear neither the previous setup
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nor the current status quo will stand. I'm not going to say, oh, I'm going to play hardball with
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China. I'm going to play hardball with you, President Xi. No, no. We're going to be very nice.
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They're going to be very nice. And we'll see what happens. But ultimately, they have to make a deal
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because otherwise they're not going to be able to deal in the United States. So we want them involved.
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But they have to and other countries have to make a deal. 145 percent is very high and it won't be
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that high. It's not going to be that high. It'll come down substantially, but it won't be zero.
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It used to be zero. We were just destroyed. China was taking us for a ride and just not going to have
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it's not going to happen. So I think it's going to work out very well. But no, it's at 145 percent.
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There will not be anywhere near that number. President Trump reportedly looking to speak
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with Chinese President Xi Jinping directly, an idea the Chinese are resisting without an agreed
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upon framework. On Wednesday, President Xi telling reporters, quote, tariff wards and trade wars
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harm the legitimate rights and interests of all countries. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign
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ministry later doubling down, telling reporters the U.S. must, quote, stop its threats and coercion
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and engage with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and reciprocity.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Besson speaking on Wednesday at the International Finance Forum,
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arguing China has more to lose and gain from a deal rebalancing their export-heavy economy.
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China in particular is in need of a rebalancing. China's economic system with growth driven by
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manufacturing exports will continue to create even more serious imbalances with its trading partners
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if the status quo is allowed to continue. China's current economic model is built on exporting its
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way out of its economic troubles. It's an unsustainable model that is not only harming China,
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but the entire world. China needs to change. The country knows it needs to change. Everyone knows
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it needs to change. And we want to help it change because we need rebalancing, too.
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On Wednesday, markets reacting positively. The Dow Jones rising by 419 points, the S&P
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gaining 88 points, and the Nasdaq rising by 407 points. Coming up, could President Trump be about
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to increase taxes on the wealthy? And border czar Tom Homan slams activist groups for intervening in
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the Trump administration's mass deportation effort. Tax day may have passed, but for millions of
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Americans, the real trouble is just the beginning. If you missed the April 15th deadline or still owe
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back taxes, the IRS is ramping up enforcement, and every day you wait might make things worse.
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With over 5,000 new tax liens filed daily and tools like property seizures, bank levies,
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and wage garnishments, you don't want to mess around, okay? The good news is there's still time
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for Tax Network USA to help. Self-employed or a business owner, even if your books are a mess,
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they've got it covered. Tax Network USA specializes in cleaning up financial chaos and getting you back
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on track fast. Even after the deadline, it's not too late to regain control. Your consultation is
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completely free, and acting now could stop penalties, threatening letters, and surprise
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levies before they escalate. Call 1-800-958-1000 or visit tnusa.com slash Megan. You may have missed
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April 15th, but you haven't run out of options. Let Tax Network USA help before the IRS makes the next move.
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In a possible break from traditional Republican orthodoxy, President Trump reportedly considering
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raising taxes on the wealthy, which means small business owners and job creators.
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Fox News Digital reporting White House aides are quietly floating a proposal to House Republicans
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that would raise the tax rate to 40 percent for Americans making more than $1 million.
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The current highest bracket set at 37 percent for those making $609,000 or more. The proposal comes
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as lawmakers work with the White House on an ambitious so-called Big Beautiful Tax Bill aiming
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to slash federal spending and make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent while adding in additional cuts
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like no taxes on tips, on overtime, or on Social Security. Pennsylvania Republican Dan Muser telling Fox
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a new tax bracket could generate significant revenue.
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By bringing it from the 37, as we're redoing the tax plan, to perhaps 38.6, right, it would still be
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1 percent less than it was before. So if you were to bring it up at one point, it brings about $15
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billion in revenues. Trump advisor and senior counselor in the first Trump administration,
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Steve Bannon, telling The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday, it's an easy political win against Democrats.
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If you look at the tax bill, everything everybody's talking about is President Trump is open to,
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and I think you're going to be shocked to see that President Trump is not going to allow a snapback
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at the upper bracket. In fact, I think he'll create a million-dollar bracket, and that bracket will be
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at 40 percent. He will actually tax the wealthy in this entire tax plan, something that Schumer and
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Pelosi and Biden didn't do in the first 100 days when they had everything in 2021. They talked about it.
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It didn't even come out of committee. President Trump will do it.
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Not all Republicans on board, however, some GOP lawmakers expressing stern opposition.
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I'm not going to vote for that. I've never met a tax break I didn't like.
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We need to look at going in and trying to find policies to spur the economy,
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to move things forward. And you don't do that by raising taxes.
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday posting a screenshot of a note on X,
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he says is from President Trump. It reads in part, quote,
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George Bush said, read my lips, no new taxes, then proceeded to give a rather small tax increase
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and was obliterated. If you can do without it, you're probably better off trying to do so.
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The speaker did not specify when that note was written, though the message echoes President
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Trump's consistent warnings on the campaign trail. If Democrats win, taxes will go up.
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Republican lawmakers aiming to release the tax package in May.
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Borders are Tom Homan Wednesday on Fox slamming activist groups for launching what he calls
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a coordinated legal campaign to obstruct the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts.
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But here's what they're doing. Here's the plan. The Biden administration overwhelmed the system.
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10.5 million people came to the border. They know it's going to take years to get through the
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court docket. By then, they're hoping there's another Democratic administration in. They'll have
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U.S. citizen children. Then all of a sudden, nobody wants them removed. When they detain them,
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they get a hearing in 35 days. They released them. Now it's going to take five to seven years.
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They're going to keep playing this game to the immigration courts, to appeal after appeal after
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appeal, district judge, district judge, to slow us down because their hopes is they'll gain power again.
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Then they can warrant amnesty to 10 million illegal aliens that are released in this country illegally.
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That is their plan. We're trying to remove these public safety threats, national security threats,
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as quick as possible. They're putting every roadblock imaginable in front of us to prevent us from doing that.
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The Trump administration is confronting a growing series of legal roadblocks from federal courts
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across the country. Challenges, critics say, undermine the executive branch's constitutional
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authority to enforce immigration law. Late Friday night, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order
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temporarily stopping the president from deporting anyone under the Alien Enemies Act, at least until
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the courts can decide the underlying case in which detainees are challenging the use of that act
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against them. Shortly thereafter, courts in Colorado and New York halted the administration's
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use of the act in cases before them. In New York, a Clinton-appointed judge blocked the deportation of
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eight Venezuelans. In Colorado, a Biden-appointed judge blocking deportations under the act and adding
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that all affected detainees must receive 21 days notice before any removal and must be informed of their
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right to challenge their deportation. The latest rulings come amid the ongoing legal battle over
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran national with confirmed ties to MS-13 currently in custody in his
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home country. Despite a documented history of domestic abuse, two immigration judges affirming his gang
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affiliation, and a valid deportation order, Democratic lawmakers making Garcia a central figure in their fight
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against the Trump administration, framing the case as a due process issue with implications
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for all Americans. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen making that argument Sunday on ABC
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following his visit to Mr. Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.
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I am not defending the man. I'm defending the rights of this man to due process. My mission and my purpose is to
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make sure that we uphold the rule of law because if we take it away from him, we do jeopardize it for
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everybody else. On Sunday, four progressive lawmakers, Congressman Robert Garcia of California,
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Maxwell Frost of Florida, Yasemin Ansari of Arizona, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon arriving in El Salvador on an
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unofficial visit to advocate for Mr. Abrego Garcia. House Oversight Chair James Comer denying the use of
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taxpayer funds, preventing the visit from being recognized as an official congressional delegation.
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The Salvadoran government citing the unofficial status of the trip, blocking the lawmakers from
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meeting with Garcia. Still, the group vowed that Democratic pressure on the Trump administration
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will continue. I am here with my colleagues to demand that Donald Trump facilitate the safe return
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home for Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. And we want to be just very clear that he needs to come home.
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This is about due process. We're not going to be the last members of Congress and senators that are
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here to make sure that he's released and that our country is following our laws. Republican
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Congressman from Pennsylvania, Guy Rishenthraller, on Tuesday telling Fox Democrats are doing Republicans
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a favor. Well, I hope more Democrats continue to stand up for MS-13 gang members. Politically,
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this is incredible for us. You know, it's really rich. These are the same politicians that during the
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State of the Union wouldn't stand up, wouldn't applaud for angel mothers. And then they turn
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around and they want to defend an MS-13 gang member. It's quite amazing. So I personally like
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the juxtaposition of where the Republicans are on this issue and where the Democrats are.
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Elon Musk telling Tesla investors on Tuesday he plans to scale back on his role in the Department
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of Government Efficiency to focus more on the car company.
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Starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to Doge will drop significantly.
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I'll have to continue doing it for probably the remainder of the president's term just to make
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sure that the waste and fraud that we stop does not come roaring back. So I think I'll continue to
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spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so
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and as long as it is useful. Starting next month, I'll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla.
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The announcement comes in the wake of a poor Q1 earnings report, profits falling by 71 percent
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compared to the same time last year, the stock price down 50 percent overall from its December peak.
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The electric car company, targeted by left-wing activists in a nationwide Tesla takedown campaign,
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designed to punish Mr. Musk for working with the Trump administration.
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More than 50 incidents reported against Tesla vehicles and facilities since January,
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ranging from vandalism to arson. Authorities arresting at least nine suspects in connection
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with the violence so far. Mr. Musk standing by his government work, telling investors the U.S.
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is facing an existential crisis. I believe the right thing to do is to just fight the waste and fraud
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and get the country back on the right track and working together with President Trump and his
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administration. Because if the ship of America goes down, we all go down with it, including Tesla
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and everyone else. The announcement reassuring investors, Tesla stock rising about five percent on
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Wednesday following Musk's remarks. Despite Musk stepping back, Doge's work in the Trump administration
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will continue. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for
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The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash
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Time Operating местоанов be on져.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com slash megankelly.com