8/25/26: Bessent Threatens Blowing Up Global Finance, Canada Trade War Begins, SCOTUS Mail In Decision
August 25, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readMichigan's Abdul El-Sayed Gets Thrown Under the Bus
The Michigan Senate race took an ugly turn this week when a deceptively edited clip of Abdul El-Sayed was circulated by his ostensible allies, then used to condemn him for what he supposedly said. The clip came from an appearance on Jesse Watters' Fox News program, where El-Sayed had gone to make his case to a conservative audience. The edited version made it appear he said something damaging about his own party — and then centrist Democrats, including former Congressman Mike Rogers, pounced.
El-Sayed's campaign had been building real momentum. He was positioning himself as a genuine progressive alternative in a primary that had attracted national attention. The coordinated hit suggests that establishment Democrats are nervous about his strength and willing to use any weapon at hand, even if it means taking a quote out of context from a Fox News appearance. The irony was not lost on observers: the same Democrats who spent years decrying conservative media manipulation were now deploying the same tactic against one of their own.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:09) **Show Open & Agenda Preview** - Krystal and Saagar outline a packed show covering Bessent’s Iran threats, the Canada trade war, a Supreme Court mail-in voting decision, and a Michigan primary controversy.
- 2 (06:02) **Bessent’s “Economic D-Day” Threat Against Iran** - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formally rolled out a plan for secondary sanctions on any country or bank facilitating Iranian oil transactions, threatening to “blow up” the global financial system.
- 3 (11:43) **VA Secretary Doug Collins Gives the Game Away** - Collins said on Newsmax that the US has “already beat them militarily” and now needs to “take their money,” revealing the administration has exhausted military options and is using economic threats as a substitute.
- 4 (13:56) **Bessent’s Trading Mentality vs. Structural Reality** - Saagar compares Bessent’s approach to his 1992 bet against the British pound, arguing he believes he can personally force markets down, but the US is now a $40 trillion debt economy, not a small target like 1990s Britain.
- 5 (21:55) **US Oil Inventories at 50-Year Low** - Bank of America data shows the US now has only 41 days of crude oil inventory left, the lowest in half a century, compounding the administration’s economic weakness.
- 6 (26:17) **Rubio Rescinds Syria’s Terrorist Designation, Keeps Cuba’s** - Secretary Rubio announced Syria, now run by a former Al-Qaeda leader, is removed from the state sponsor of terrorism list, while Cuba remains listed, despite 3.5 million Cubans lacking running water due to the US blockade.
- 7 (29:55) **Canada Trade War Escalates, But Tariffs Delayed to January** - Trump threatened to hike auto tariffs from 25% to 50% starting January 1, 2027, while Bessent said Canada “walked away” from a deal, but Canadian officials claim the US introduced last-minute unacceptable demands.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Ryan and Emily discuss Bessent unveiling Operation Economic Outcast on Iran, Canada raging at Trump's new trade war, and SCOTUS making a huge decision on mail in voting as a gift to Trump.
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