April 1, 2025
Lutnick Under Microscope, Musk Soc Sec # Wild Chart, Tragic Soldier Update in Lithuania
Source Credits:
https://nypost.com/2025/04/01/us-news/frustration-grows-with-commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-ahead-of-trump-tariff-announcement-loose-cannon-with-half-baked-ideas/ https://nypost.com/2025/04/01/us-news/musk-shares-mind-blowing-chart-showing-millions-of-noncitizens-given-social-security-numbers-under-biden/ https://nypost.com/2025/04/01/us-news/body-of-fourth-us-soldier-who-vanished-in-lithuania-during-training-exercise-recovered-after-extensive-search/
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Chapters
00:00 - Episode Introduction
01:10 - Commerce Secretary Lutnick Controversy
05:25 - Elon Musk's Social Security Bombshell
09:27 - US Soldier Recovered in Lithuania
12:52 - Episode Wrap-Up and Call to Action
Transcript
WEBVTT
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Hello America.
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Joc, here with your Ranting Politics headline updates, where we are diving into today's most explosive political stories that you need to know about Coming up.
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We're diving into the growing frustrations with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who's being called a loose cannon with half-baked ideas ahead of Trump's big tariff announcement.
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I mean, who doesn't love a little drama in the Cabinet?
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Trump's big tariff announcement I mean who doesn't love a little drama in the cabinet?
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Then Elon Musk drops what he calls a mind-blowing bombshell about millions of non-citizens receiving social security numbers under Biden.
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The numbers are wild folks.
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And finally, some somber news, as the body of a fourth US soldier has been recovered in Lithuania after a training exercise went tragically wrong near the Belarus border.
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Stick around for all this and more in your daily dose of unfiltered news and common sense commentary.
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This is Ranting Politics Headline Updates.
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Trouble's brewing in Washington as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick finds himself in hot water ahead of President Trump's highly anticipated Liberation Day tariff announcement.
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According to the New York Post, frustration with the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO has reached fever pitch, with one insider comparing the situation to being a mosquito at a nudist colony.
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Where do you even start?
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Lutnick, who previously co-chaired Trump's transition team, is reportedly rubbing colleagues the wrong way with both his policy approach and communication style.
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The most notable gaffe His recent proclamation that a tariff induced recession would be worth it.
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Not exactly what you want to hear from your commerce secretary when the economy's on everyone's mind.
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But wait, there's more.
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Lutnik also raised eyebrows by publicly encouraging Americans to buy Tesla stock during a Fox News appearance in March.
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As if that wasn't enough, sources close to the White House describe him as a loose cannon with half-baked ideas that he just randomly spews on live television.
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One administration insider told the Post they want Lutnick to think before he speaks, adding that TV interviews aren't just a forum to test run your latest thought bubble, ouch.
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Despite keeping a tight lid on internal divisions during Trump's second term, this rare glimpse into administration infighting shows just how much Lutnick has managed to irk his colleagues he's frequently seen with Trump.
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As the president prepares for Wednesday's reciprocal tariff announcement, which will coincide with the adoption of 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as worldwide auto imports, the frustration appears widespread, with another source confirming it's 100% accurate that annoyance with Lutnick is growing throughout the administration.
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The Commerce Secretary has apparently developed a habit of inserting himself into policy discussions beyond his purview, further agitating those around him For what it's worth.
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The White House is publicly standing by their man.
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Spokesperson Kush Desai defended Lutnick, calling him an integral addition to the Trump administration's trade and economic team, whose long and immensely successful private sector career makes him valuable to the president's America First agenda.
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Lutnick's approach to trade policy has sent ripples throughout the administration, creating a delicate balancing act for Trump's economic team.
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Despite the internal frustration, lutnick remains a key figure in shaping the president's ambitious tariff strategy, which is set to fundamentally restructure America's trading relationships.
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Market analysts are closely watching Wednesday's announcement, with many predicting a more measured approach than initially feared.
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President Trump himself hinted Monday that his reciprocal tariffs may be less dramatic than anticipated, potentially blunting impact on the stock market and easing some of the tension surrounding Lutnik.
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The White House continues to present a unified front, with spokesperson Khush Desai emphasizing that every member of the Trump administration is playing from the same playbook President Trump's playbook.
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This public solidarity suggests that, despite the behind-the scenes frustration, lutnik's position remains secure for now.
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Regarding Lutnik's controversial Tesla stock recommendation, the administration has reframed it as a defense of American industry, while deranged Democrats like Tim Walz are openly calling for the ruin of an iconic American company that employs tens of thousands of everyday Americans.
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The Trump administration is committed to unleashing prosperity for all of our companies, desai stated, effectively turning criticism into a partisan counterattack.
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The upcoming Liberation Day represents a critical moment for both Lutnick and the administration's broader economic agenda.
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With tariffs set to impact virtually all trading partners, the question remains whether Lutnick's bold some would say reckless approach will yield the economic sovereignty Trump has promised or create new headaches for an administration already managing significant policy shifts.
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Trump's team is walking a tightrope, leveraging Lutnick's business acumen while attempting to rein in his most unpredictable impulses before they impact market confidence or undermine the administration's carefully crafted economic narrative.
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Or undermine the administration's carefully crafted economic narrative.
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In a move that's raising eyebrows across the political spectrum, elon Musk shared what he described as mind-blowing data during a get-out-the-vote rally in Wisconsin this weekend.
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The tech billionaire presented a chart that allegedly shows millions of non-citizens receive Social Security numbers during President Biden's administration.
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The rally, which took place just days before a highly contested state judicial race, featured Musk alongside Doge colleague Antonio Gracias, who took the stage to explain their findings from an audit of federal programs, with a dramatic graphic displayed behind them, titled New Non-Citizen Social Security Numbers Issued.
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Gracias walked the audience through what he described as an accidental discovery.
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We started at the top of the system, mapping the whole system of social security, to understand where all the fraud was.
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Gracias explained to the crowd.
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When we saw these numbers, we were like what is this?
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According to the chart, non-citizen social security number issuance steadily increased year over year under Biden, reaching a staggering peak of over 2 million in fiscal year 2024 alone.
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Fiscal year 23 and fiscal year 25 each showed approximately 1 million non-citizens receiving social security numbers.
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This revelation comes as part of Doge's broader investigation into various federal agencies.
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We went there to find fraud and we found this by accident.
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Gracius told the stunned audience, with Musk adding that the chart was truly mind-blowing.
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The Wisconsin event gained additional attention after Musk handed out $1 million checks to two voters who signed a petition against activist judges, a move that survived a legal challenge when the state's Supreme Court declined to intervene.
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This bombshell comes shortly after President Trump signed an executive order directing public assistance programs to stop providing access to non-citizens, emphasizing that such services are intended exclusively for US citizens.
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According to the New York Post, these findings are already influencing policy decisions across multiple federal departments.
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The deeper we dive into Doge's audit of the Social Security Administration, the more shocking the findings become.
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According to Musk and Gracius, their investigation uncovered approximately 7 million social security accounts belonging to people supposedly over 120 years old, a number that defies both logic and human longevity records.
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Last week we removed about 7 million social security accounts for people who were listed as being over 120 years old.
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Musk stated during the Wisconsin town hall Just let that sink in 7 million accounts for people who would be older than the oldest human being ever documented.
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But that's not where the irregularities end.
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Doge's audit allegedly found that the social security database included a staggering 20 million dead people who were still marked as alive in the system.
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That's 20 million individuals who are deceased but potentially still appearing as active in government records.
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These revelations come amid increased scrutiny of federal benefit programs and raise serious questions about database management and potential fraud within the Social Security system.
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The findings align with the administration's recent initiatives to tighten access to public benefits.
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development has already launched a new program with the Department of Homeland Security, specifically designed to improve communication between agencies to prevent non-citizens from accessing public housing benefits.
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This initiative appears to be a direct response to concerns about improper benefit distribution identified through DOGE's ongoing investigations.
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While critics might question the timing and presentation of these findings at a political rally, the sheer scale of the numbers presented paints a troubling picture of potential systemic issues within one of America's most critical public benefit programs.
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In a somber update from Lithuania, officials have confirmed that the remains of the fourth and final US soldier who disappeared during a training exercise have been recovered.
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The discovery comes after an exhaustive, week-long search operation through challenging terrain near Pabraid, close to the Belarus border.
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The soldier, whose identity has not yet been released, was found just one day after recovery teams located the remains of three other American soldiers when their armored vehicle was discovered submerged in a peat bog.
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All four belonged to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division and had been missing since March 25th.
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Major General Christopher Norrie, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, expressed profound grief in a statement.
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This past week has been devastating.
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Today, our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final dog-faced soldier.
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Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.
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The soldiers had been operating an M88A2 armored recovery vehicle during the training exercise, a massive 63-ton machine equipped with a crane designed to extract other armored vehicles.
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Us Army officials have stated that the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
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These American troops were part of ongoing NATO training operations in the Baltic region, specifically practicing maneuvers in the area's notoriously difficult, swampy, heavily forested terrain.
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The training exercises are particularly significant given the region's proximity to Belarus and Russia.
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While there is absolutely no indication that the tragedy is connected to regional tensions, this incident occurs against a backdrop of heightened vigilance along NATO's eastern flank.
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The New York Post reports that approximately 16,000 US troops are currently deployed across the Baltic states, with the majority stationed in Poland.
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This training accident takes on additional significance given the escalating tensions between Lithuania, a NATO member state, and its neighbors Belarus and Russia, both staunch allies.
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Just two weeks before the incident, lithuania made the dramatic announcement that it would begin laying mines along its borders with Belarus, reflecting growing concerns that Russia could potentially expand its Ukrainian offensive with an incursion into NATO territory.
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Lithuania isn't alone in these defensive preparations.
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Poland has also begun constructing similar border fortifications as part of a broader regional response to perceived threats from the east.
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These developments mark a significant escalation in the Baltic security environment.
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The American military presence in this strategic region is substantial, with approximately 16,000 US troops currently deployed across the area.
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The distribution includes around 14,000 troops stationed in Poland, 1,000 in Lithuania and 700 in Estonia.
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These forces represent America's commitment to NATO's eastern flank at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
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While military officials have emphasized that the tragic training accident appears completely unrelated to these broader tensions, it nevertheless underscores the strategic importance of the ongoing American military presence in this increasingly volatile corner of Europe.
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The challenging terrain that claimed these soldiers' lives is precisely the environment that NATO forces must master to effectively defend the alliance's eastern borders.
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Well, folks, that wraps up today's episode of Ranting Politics Headline Updates.
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We've covered Secretary Lutnick's controversial comments causing friction in the Trump administration ahead of tomorrow's big tariff announcement, elon Musk's mind-blowing revelation about millions of non-citizens receiving social security numbers during the Biden years, and the tragic recovery of our fourth fallen soldier in Lithuania near the Belarus border.
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These are the stories that matter, delivered straight, with no partisan spin, just the facts, some common sense and our unwavering belief that America's best days are ahead.
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If you're hungry for more unfiltered news, follow us on X at Ranting RP.
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You can also catch us on YouTube, spotify, iheartradio and Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to visit RantingPoliticscom for more of America's fastest growing daily news rundown, designed for your commute.
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This is JOC signing off and thank you, our loyal listeners, for choosing Ranting Politics headline updates.
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We'll be back soon with the updates you need to navigate these interesting times.
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Until then, stay tuned, stay informed and, as always, stay free.
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