Trump’s First Two Weeks: Border Success, Colorado Health Bills, and Economic Policy

On February 6, 2025, Pam Long (Director, Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter, Children’s Health Defense), Phil Kerpen (President, American Commitment, American Commitment), Karen Levine (RE/MAX Realtor, RE/MAX), and Chris Harris (Retired Border Patrol Agent, San Diego Sector Border Patrol (Retired)) joined the show. Pam Long warned about HB 25-1027, calling it a ‘Trojan horse’ that would expand CDPHE’s crisis authority beyond epidemics while removing legislative oversight Phil Kerpen analyzed the Trump administration’s rapid policy rollout, including withdrawal from three international agreements on day one Karen Levine reported 1,200 new homes on the market. Start listening at 74:10 – Hour 2 Chris Harris, who spent 21 years in the Border Patrol and served as a union official handling legislative affairs, described the dramatic turnaround at the southern border. “ICE under Biden was doing a little bit over 300 arrests a day. They’re now over 1, 000. So that’s a triple- fold increase.” Chris Harris Harris emphasized that enforcement is targeting criminals, gangbangers, cartel members, and potential terrorists rather than ordinary immigrants. He detailed recent ICE raids in Aurora targeting approximately 100 Tren de Aragua gang members, vindicating Aurora council member Danielle Jarenski who had warned about the gang’s presence months earlier when officials denied they existed. “And this is what I want to say, Kim, and I’m going to hammer it home as long as you let me talk about it throughout this interview, is that they are targeting bad people. We’re talking about criminal elements. We’re talking about gangbangers.” Chris Harris Harris also explained the concept of ‘collateral arrests,’ noting that while enforcement focuses on specific targets, anyone found to be illegally present during an operation may now be taken into custody. He contrasted this with the previous administration’s policy of only taking designated targets even when other illegal immigrants were discovered. Start listening at 34:07 – Hour 1 Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment, catalogued the administration’s rapid policy actions, including withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, World Health Organization, and OECD minimum tax cartel on day one. “A tariff is really only very useful twice, when you’re putting it on and when you’re taking it off, when you can use it to get concessions either on the front end by threatening it or in exchange for removing it.” Phil Kerpen Kerpen defended the administration’s use of tariffs as diplomatic leverage while acknowledging his own free market principles oppose them as permanent policy. He noted that Colombia, Mexico, and Canada all made significant concessions after tariff threats, demonstrating the tactic’s effectiveness. On the USAID controversy, Kerpen pointed out that Politico received approximately $8-10 million annually in government subscriptions, helping explain the outlet’s favorable coverage of the agency. Start listening at 17:32 – Hour 1 Pam Long, director of Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter, issued an urgent warning about House Bill 25-1027, scheduled for a floor vote the day of the broadcast. “This is a Trojan horse where it’s being portrayed as we’re just updating some language.”