Valuetainment - April 23, 2025


＂Zelenskyy Wants Cash＂ – Trump Teases EXPLOSIVE Ukraine Mineral Deal STALLED By Kyiv


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

196.61263

Word Count

3,173

Sentence Count

306

Misogynist Sentences

2

Hate Speech Sentences

4


Summary

Trump says minerals deal with Ukraine to be signed next Thursday. This is very, very important if they pull this off. Rob and Tom discuss why this deal is being held up and why they think it could be a deal breaker.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Trump says minerals deal with Ukraine to be signed next Thursday.
00:00:04.160 This is very, very important if they pull this off.
00:00:07.720 Rob, is this it?
00:00:08.420 Is this the clip?
00:00:09.060 Go for it, buddy.
00:00:10.040 He said we could see a minerals deal signed this week.
00:00:12.960 Well, we have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday, Scott, next Thursday.
00:00:18.580 Soon.
00:00:19.840 And I assume they're going to live up to the deal, so we'll see.
00:00:23.000 But we have a deal on that.
00:00:26.520 No, I have no comment on that.
00:00:28.060 I have no idea.
00:00:29.160 That's his statement, not mine.
00:00:31.520 He doesn't seem too confident about it.
00:00:33.260 No.
00:00:33.620 Okay, let me read the rest in time.
00:00:35.000 I want to give it to you.
00:00:37.440 So President Trump announced in the Oval Office of Prime Minister George Maloney that an 80-page mineral deal with Ukraine will be signed next Thursday.
00:00:44.920 Though Secretary Scott Besson clarified it would likely occur on April 26th with the U.S. reducing its repayment demands for Ukraine
00:00:53.480 and its fight against Russia from $300 billion to $100 billion.
00:00:56.640 Ukrainian President Zelensky, after meeting with Trump administration, said good progress has been made and a memorandum of understanding could be signed at any moment.
00:01:06.020 But Besson revealed Zelensky was supposed to sign that during his February visit, instead bypassing it for the big deal, which Zelensky refused, causing a televised Oval Office confrontation, which we've all seen that.
00:01:19.180 Tom, go ahead.
00:01:19.540 So there's the what and there's the how.
00:01:22.160 Here's the what.
00:01:23.360 Rare earth minerals are important.
00:01:25.100 Lithium, cobalt, things like that.
00:01:27.180 They're in your phone.
00:01:28.100 They're in the batteries for EVs.
00:01:30.700 They're in batteries on your phone, as a matter of fact.
00:01:32.380 And they are critically important, and they're called rare earth minerals because they're very rare.
00:01:37.920 They're only in certain areas around the world, just like gold is only in certain areas around the world.
00:01:43.200 Oil is only in certain areas around the world.
00:01:45.060 So are these.
00:01:46.000 That's the what.
00:01:47.160 We need that to keep driving a technologically advanced economy, and we need lots of that.
00:01:52.680 We need a supply of that.
00:01:54.180 And when we were dependent on the Middle East for oil in the 70s and early 80s, that was bad.
00:01:59.840 That's why drill, baby, drill, because we have oil.
00:02:02.720 We have it.
00:02:03.580 Well, for rare earth minerals, it's not dig, baby, dig, because we don't have them everywhere.
00:02:09.020 And so we need partners.
00:02:11.000 And recently, China has said that as part of this trade war that they are embargoing us and saying you don't get the rare earth minerals.
00:02:20.340 This is exactly what Trump feared, and that's why, before everyone understood the how, why Trump was there at the Oval Office back with Vance and Zelensky when that whole thing happened, going at each other there.
00:02:35.100 And he then refused to sign the minerals deal because Trump said, I got a great idea.
00:02:40.240 I'll give you a little discount on what you owe me back, but then you can pay me in rare earth minerals that I need for my economy.
00:02:45.980 The art of the deal, that was good, and that slipped.
00:02:49.320 Well, now we need it even more, and it appears, there's no word of whether this was in there previously, but it appears that what's on the table now, and they call this a memorandum of understanding, MOU, that we're going to reduce what you owe from $300 to $100, and you're going to pay with the rare earth minerals.
00:03:08.080 If we get it done, this is a good thing for the U.S. economy to get access to the rare earth minerals.
00:03:12.720 How much do you think Zelensky knows that the U.S. desperately needs that minerals deal, and he's intentionally delaying it?
00:03:20.220 I think he knows it a lot, and I think he's a player, and I don't think he really cares about his country.
00:03:25.180 I think there's a lot of things going on.
00:03:26.560 Why would he delay it?
00:03:27.520 Give me three reasons why he would delay it.
00:03:31.360 One is giving a middle finger to Trump.
00:03:33.280 I get that.
00:03:34.160 What else?
00:03:34.720 I think he wants more.
00:03:35.940 I don't think he wants a discount.
00:03:38.520 I think he wants cash because that's always what he comes looking for, and they take the cash.
00:03:43.980 They skim it.
00:03:44.980 Then they send some of it to, ironically, back to U.S. companies, and they buy arms and stuff, and I think he wants cash.
00:03:53.200 I think that's what it is.
00:03:54.300 That's why he's manipulating it, and I think he also looks over his shoulder and saying, yeah, and I notice you don't have a deal with Greenland yet.
00:04:00.980 You only have this negotiated detente with Greenland where Greenland is slow-rolling China because, remember, China's trying to get a deal with Greenland to dig rare earth in Greenland.
00:04:11.800 So in addition to their own rare earth and to have their rare earth, they're trying to – China's trying to play the Monopoly game and get all the yellows because a set of yellows is rare earth minerals, which means they control any technology economies because they control that supply.
00:04:27.400 That's what's going on, and Greenland would be a big help, and haven't heard words about Greenland recently because we've been trying to get that deal done.
00:04:36.200 So I think Zelensky knows.
00:04:37.660 I think he wants cash.
00:04:38.720 He always wants a little more, always wants a little more, always wants a little more.
00:04:41.400 Let me ask you.
00:04:41.860 Who can help in this situation because Putin's also not helping, right?
00:04:46.140 Putin's also not helping the fact that he's not wanting to come to the table.
00:04:48.820 You know, it's almost like he's trying to say, hey, Trump, mind your own business.
00:04:54.580 I'm dealing with my kid here, Ukraine.
00:04:56.660 This is none of your business.
00:04:57.580 Leave it alone.
00:04:58.200 I'll let you know when we want to do something.
00:04:59.540 You don't dictate the terms.
00:05:00.800 Is that kind of the vibe you get from Putin?
00:05:02.680 That's the vibe I get, and there are two words that would – that the rest of the world would probably flip out at.
00:05:09.180 But there's two words that Trump could utter to Putin to help move that forward, Crimea and Donbass, and say, tell you what, we draw the new line, Crimea, Donbass, we call off the war, we do all this.
00:05:25.180 Do you see what I mean?
00:05:26.460 And I think – remember, Russia feels that that is historically theirs.
00:05:31.620 They feel that the creation of Ukraine stepped on their historical territory, and they've been upset about it for as long as Ukraine has been separate.
00:05:43.240 And so I think that's what – Putin also has his desires, and its territory and what he says is legitimate Russian historical soil.
00:05:54.040 Does Ukraine have a deal with China at all?
00:05:57.680 Rob, can you check that?
00:05:58.800 Does Ukraine have a deal with China on minerals?
00:06:02.520 Do they have a mineral deal?
00:06:05.420 I don't think they need them, but let's just see if there's anything there.
00:06:08.340 I haven't heard of one.
00:06:09.040 Yeah.
00:06:12.100 There's an internal minister of China.
00:06:13.720 It said exactly engaging Western nations.
00:06:15.440 Okay.
00:06:17.800 Yeah, this is a pretzel, and this is really important.
00:06:20.480 This is an important deal to get.
00:06:24.040 I don't know, Tom.
00:06:24.920 I – they got to – there's 20 different ways you can get good news for the economy.
00:06:33.440 Okay.
00:06:34.220 So new jobs report.
00:06:37.420 All right.
00:06:37.860 Cool.
00:06:38.700 Low unemployment.
00:06:40.140 All right.
00:06:40.480 Great.
00:06:41.600 Inflation.
00:06:42.740 Okay.
00:06:43.120 It's going down.
00:06:44.320 Okay.
00:06:44.660 Hey, the stock market's doing well.
00:06:46.680 All right.
00:06:47.120 Cool.
00:06:48.060 You know, hey, crypto's up.
00:06:50.120 All right.
00:06:50.600 Cool.
00:06:51.540 You know, we lowered our national debt.
00:06:55.740 So far, none of those we have.
00:06:57.560 We brokered a new trade deal.
00:06:59.740 Okay.
00:07:01.580 What else?
00:07:02.380 What else can you say about that?
00:07:03.260 Yeah.
00:07:03.540 The trade deal's not like India.
00:07:04.800 Like, hey, we're progressing with India.
00:07:07.440 You know, I changed my mind we're going to move interest rates down.
00:07:10.760 Right.
00:07:11.140 I changed my mind, Jerome Powell.
00:07:13.060 Okay.
00:07:13.740 Taxes are going down.
00:07:14.940 The new tax plan is ready.
00:07:16.140 It's going down.
00:07:16.740 Middle, especially for the middle class that already is maxed out on credit cards so that
00:07:21.640 they can actually spend a little bit.
00:07:23.420 Right.
00:07:23.800 Sales spending.
00:07:24.480 Consumer confidence is up.
00:07:25.860 Right?
00:07:26.760 What good news do they have right now?
00:07:29.600 Right now?
00:07:30.800 Right now.
00:07:32.340 What good news do they have right now?
00:07:34.320 Literally, J.D. Vance at the podium has been the best news that I've seen in about a
00:07:40.120 week since the jobs report came out that showed February was pretty strong.
00:07:44.260 That was like a hard, remember that?
00:07:45.660 That was like a hard number victory.
00:07:48.160 Hey, people are hiring.
00:07:49.880 Things are like, but since that, you know, we're looking, looking for not sentiment, but
00:07:55.360 looking for signatures and numbers.
00:07:57.920 That's what I'm waiting for.
00:07:59.060 Signatures and numbers.
00:08:00.720 Adam.
00:08:02.100 So what's the question?
00:08:03.420 Or do you want me to comment on what?
00:08:04.360 Comment on what we just talked about.
00:08:05.700 What would be good news for the economy?
00:08:07.340 A war, by the way.
00:08:08.240 For the economy overall.
00:08:09.660 I mean, everything's being disrupted right now.
00:08:11.500 I was just, I sent this to Rob.
00:08:13.080 You know, I'm a fan of this guy, Fareed Zakaria.
00:08:14.880 And he coined something called the post-American world and how essentially whether it's Trump
00:08:22.140 sort of being the disruptor or whether it's the world sort of reacting and basically no
00:08:25.640 longer necessarily relying on America.
00:08:27.320 I could argue this is a good thing.
00:08:28.740 I could argue that this is a bad thing.
00:08:30.200 But the basic premise is now that the Trump administration has basically had this revolution
00:08:36.960 on foreign policy, you know, economic nationalism, basically freeing ourself from all these trade
00:08:41.640 agreements, World Health Organization tariffs, everything that he's doing, how every country
00:08:46.720 is now going to seek independence from their dependence that they've had on America for the
00:08:53.100 last 70 years, whether that's through protectionism or, you know, economic advancements or whether
00:09:00.400 that's through literally us protecting them with our troops, you know, our bases all around
00:09:05.020 the world.
00:09:06.540 But, you know, there's a part of this.
00:09:09.300 I don't know if you can show this clip, Rob, or actually show the part of it.
00:09:12.100 But they singled out at the very beginning, they talked about how there's the I think
00:09:16.520 the foreign minister of Singapore and basically the pro-American, but they're also on Chinese
00:09:20.700 side of the world.
00:09:21.640 And they basically have the balance.
00:09:23.400 There it is right here.
00:09:24.280 He said basically how America has changed from great liberator to great disruptor to now
00:09:29.740 a landlord seeking rent.
00:09:31.760 And, you know, that's sort of a jab at Trump basically saying time to pay up.
00:09:35.680 It's payback time, which I understand.
00:09:37.620 But now if you kind of go on this clip, the EU is now basically saying, all right, what's
00:09:42.180 going to like, what's going to, the world is not, the US is no longer prepared to underwrite
00:09:46.020 the global order.
00:09:47.240 This makes for international environment far less orderly and predictable.
00:09:50.200 And there's probably one more quote that you can find from the EU right here.
00:09:55.320 If it's coming up right here, here it goes.
00:09:57.420 This is from Germany's likely next chancellor.
00:10:00.300 They say, Friedrich Merckx, he says, that's Tom's accent if you want to do it, Tom.
00:10:05.040 My absolute priority would be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step
00:10:09.060 by step we can really achieve independence from the USA.
00:10:13.020 I never thought I'd have to say something like this.
00:10:15.220 But after Donald Trump's statements, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part
00:10:19.520 of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.
00:10:24.520 So I'm actually OK with some of this.
00:10:27.360 But I also understand why this is a great disruption, because we can't be the world's
00:10:31.420 policemen.
00:10:31.820 We can't just take care of everybody, because if America, in my opinion, if America at this
00:10:37.580 point was, if I could find an avatar for who America is, it'd be a rich, fat, bloated
00:10:45.260 person like someone like J.B.
00:10:47.420 Pritzker.
00:10:48.040 Handing out cash to spoiled children.
00:10:50.460 Exactly.
00:10:50.960 We're rich.
00:10:51.600 We got everything going on.
00:10:52.940 But we're also very fat and bloated.
00:10:55.120 So something's going to have to give.
00:10:56.700 And indifferent to the fate of Europe.
00:10:58.240 Trump, let me translate that, willing to pay 70 percent of the cost of NATO.
00:11:04.160 So let's make sure we understand what some of these statements are.
00:11:07.920 And by the way, this guy's a Democrat.
00:11:09.100 It's not like he's going to be a pro-Trump guy.
00:11:10.700 Yeah.
00:11:11.200 Frederick Mertz is a guy that's a Biden guy.
00:11:13.180 He's not a Trump guy.
00:11:13.960 So he's going to make the count.
00:11:14.760 Yeah.
00:11:14.960 However, however, however, however, you're right.
00:11:18.940 The one thing to be thinking about is the following.
00:11:21.500 Very simple.
00:11:22.420 OK.
00:11:23.360 You're in a room.
00:11:26.060 You're negotiating a contract with a carrier.
00:11:28.880 OK.
00:11:29.620 You got one guy here.
00:11:30.600 You got one guy here.
00:11:32.980 One of them has been a partner for you.
00:11:36.060 The other one, you don't trust at all, whatsoever.
00:11:39.840 I remember one time I brought a guy who was doing annuity for me.
00:11:42.100 I won't say the company's name, but it had to do with annuity marketing.
00:11:45.720 Are you saying annuity?
00:11:47.320 Annuities.
00:11:47.780 Yeah.
00:11:48.000 I thought you said something else.
00:11:49.100 I was getting a little turned on.
00:11:50.320 What did I say?
00:11:51.200 Annuity.
00:11:51.340 They said nudie.
00:11:52.040 Oh, no, no.
00:11:52.740 He said nudie.
00:11:53.540 I was like, pat.
00:11:54.040 I'm like, yo.
00:11:54.860 So check this out.
00:11:55.840 So this guy comes in, and I told him, I said, look, we have one basic rule.
00:12:00.020 When you talk to my agents, you're a wholesaler.
00:12:02.780 You don't get to talk contract and commission on all that stuff.
00:12:06.000 He said, we would never do that.
00:12:07.420 That's a code in insurance.
00:12:08.520 We'd never do that.
00:12:09.980 At my event, he goes to one of my guys, gives a number, does a side deal with him.
00:12:13.800 I went up to him.
00:12:14.960 I told him, I said, you and I can never do business together for the rest of your life.
00:12:17.420 Light in my face.
00:12:18.240 That was in 2010.
00:12:19.180 You know who we were in 2010?
00:12:21.040 Nothing.
00:12:21.400 You know how much leverage I had in 2010?
00:12:23.260 Very little.
00:12:24.000 This much.
00:12:24.460 You know what the guy said?
00:12:25.300 Who the hell are you?
00:12:26.360 Yeah.
00:12:27.080 Do you get what I'm saying?
00:12:27.880 He called the bluff.
00:12:28.760 He's like, don't tell me what the hell are you, bro?
00:12:30.680 You're a small little company.
00:12:32.120 Now, five years later, it's a different story.
00:12:34.960 Now, it's not who the hell are you.
00:12:36.020 Now, it's like, no, man.
00:12:36.720 Whatever you guys need, we got to make you happy.
00:12:38.200 So, today, America is not who are you.
00:12:42.520 America is still America.
00:12:43.900 Fully agree.
00:12:44.260 And nobody trusts China.
00:12:45.620 So, to me, this is a messaging issue that I think everybody needs to be on the same messaging over and over and over and over and over and over to say, here's how China is as a partner.
00:13:00.440 Hey, everybody in the EU, in the Middle East, this is how China negotiates.
00:13:05.520 Just so you know, we saw them under COVID.
00:13:07.560 We saw how they negotiate.
00:13:09.180 They'll steal everything from you.
00:13:10.580 They will never keep their commitment on their contract.
00:13:12.840 They're not going to do it.
00:13:14.200 So, do you want to partner with somebody like that or do you want to partner with somebody like us?
00:13:18.000 Who do you want to partner up with?
00:13:19.280 And that doesn't mean U.S. is a perfect, like, we don't have any stuff that we bully and we challenge and we expect and all that other stuff.
00:13:26.560 But that kind of comes with the territory when you've got a good business.
00:13:29.060 Can I tell you, I so much agree with you because what I've said so many times here is that Donald Trump is one of the most brilliant marketers we've ever had.
00:13:39.080 But for some reason, when he's rolling out policies, he doesn't use his marketing skills as much as he should.
00:13:47.300 Like, he should be basically explaining, guys, here's the plan.
00:13:50.600 Here's what we're doing.
00:13:51.960 You know, I've said this a million times.
00:13:53.240 Drain the swamp.
00:13:54.380 Lock her up.
00:13:55.320 Build the wall.
00:13:55.920 All these great three-word terms got him elected.
00:14:00.300 So, if you want to get a rate cut with Jerome Powell, cut that rate.
00:14:04.140 If you want to deal with China, make China pay.
00:14:06.460 It's so easy.
00:14:07.960 But there's so much uncertainty in the marketplace.
00:14:11.120 My one request for Trump is just be very clear on your messaging and America will be with you.
00:14:15.840 There's so much uncertainty and you're adding to the chaos by not being clear.
00:14:20.320 I think he could do better on the messaging.
00:14:22.920 Yeah.
00:14:23.320 We'll see.
00:14:26.080 We'll see what's going to happen there.
00:14:27.200 The reality of it is that we're still in the thick of things and it doesn't look like a deal is around the corner yet.
00:14:35.480 That's specifically what one country everybody's looking at, which is China.
00:14:40.060 And all the markets love the Indian news today.
00:14:42.680 That's right.
00:14:43.160 Green, green, green.
00:14:44.060 I had no idea what was going to happen with the Yetis.
00:14:46.700 I had no idea.
00:14:47.780 When our team said, Pat, they're not going to last.
00:14:50.360 Like this, all of it was gone.
00:14:52.360 Next thing you know, we were swamped by messages of Pat.
00:14:56.020 Can we get additional Yetis to do collaboration with Value Tim and the Future Looks Bright?
00:15:00.740 The next one is here.
00:15:01.960 Now, keep in mind, these will go very fast.
00:15:03.860 Rob, if you want to play this clip, we got different ones.
00:15:06.180 These are based on what many of you guys asked.
00:15:08.640 This is the Future Looks Bright Yeti, whether it's a pink one, whether it's the red one, whether it's the Tiffany blue or the white.
00:15:16.840 This seems to be, this one seems to be, it's sick.
00:15:19.560 It's absolutely sick.
00:15:21.320 Yeah.
00:15:21.480 Or even a smaller one that you got.
00:15:23.440 And on top of this, Rob, if you can also go to the website, there are, I think it's 10 coolers that we got.
00:15:30.460 A couple of people asked for coolers.
00:15:31.560 Only 10?
00:15:31.820 I just got 10 of them.
00:15:32.620 We're like, let's just see if there's a market for it.
00:15:33.840 I guarantee you that they'll be gone before we're out for the next episode.
00:15:36.440 I said, let's get 10 and let's see how it does.
00:15:38.560 Those are sick.
00:15:38.720 Look at that.
00:15:39.060 Look how sick that is with Future Looks Bright right on top of it.
00:15:41.280 That's so badass.
00:15:41.940 So, vtmerch.com, go place your order.
00:15:44.320 Be the first to get it because these things will go very quickly.
00:15:49.180 Again, it is limited supply and they're absolutely sick.
00:15:54.280 When you go to work and you have this vitamin logo and the Future Looks Bright, it looks insane.
00:15:57.940 Okay.
00:15:58.560 Again, go to vtmerch.com, place your order with the Yeti collaboration.
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