Donald Trump Should See This Movie… and Other Controversies

“FreedomFest doesn’t just ride the wave, it often invents it.” — John Fund, National Review

I just returned from another successful FreedomFest, this one in Palm Springs, California.

What a great show it was: Over 200 speakers and exhibitors, and 1,500 attendees enjoying four days of an “Oasis in Liberty.”

There’s nothing like it in the world. It was a pleasure to meet up with so many subscribers and old friends, and to meet new ones.

But FreedomFest wasn’t without controversy! See below.

Wars and Rumors of Wars

Much discussion at this year’s conference was about the new war in the Middle East. President Donald Trump can no longer say that wars don’t happen while he is in office.

Israel took the initiative and attacked Iran, escalating the war in the Middle East. Israel pinpointed Iran’s nuclear facilities and then their oil operations, causing oil prices to spike to over $70 a barrel. President Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran, but Israel actually took the first step.

Stocks tumbled, but gold, oil and bitcoin advanced.

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Gold and silver have also advanced on the news. (My favorite gold stock is now up over 70% this year.) Silver is now over $37 an ounce, and was very popular at the conference as our symbol of liberty and sound money. Below is the photo of attendees holding silver dollars at the closing panel on Saturday (Kennedy is holding an American eagle gold coin! Can you see Steve Forbes in the picture?)

The Truth Comes Out: Trump IS a Protectionist!

The big debate since “Liberation Day” is whether Trump is a die-hard protectionist or simply using aggressively high tariffs to negotiate a better deal to reducing barriers for American products.

Art Laffer, Helen Raleigh, Mark Skousen, Barbara Kolm and Steve Forbes

This was the big debate topic at this year’s FreedomFest, where Steve Forbes and Art Laffer squared off on the main stage to debate the “Tariff-ying Trade War.” I served as moderator. Laffer defended the president, saying privately he was a free trader and is using import duties as a negotiating method, while Forbes ridiculed the idea that the U.S. economy was being “liberated” by taxing American businesses and consumers.

We found out the truth when the European Union agreed to accept Trump’s 10% tariffs on European imports in a new trade agreement, three times higher than before the trade war began. I’d hardly call that free trade.

The Economic Miracle in Vietnam:

‘Donald Trump Should See This Movie!’

Regarding other countries, when Vietnam was hit with a bizarre 46% tariff on its exports to the United States, the government there countered by offering a ZERO percent rate between both countries — and Trump turned it down.

This failure to accept a true free-trade agreement by Trump is especially galling, to punish a former enemy that has adopted market capitalism and finally escaped the evils of communism. At the Anthem Film Festival at FreedomFest, we saw a great documentary on how Vietnam has transformed itself from its dreary socialist policies into a brilliant market economy, based on Rainer Zitelmann’s book, “How Nations Escape Poverty.” It won “Best International Documentary” at the film festival.

Steve Forbes said: “Donald Trump should see this movie.” Read the story here: Steve Forbes: “Donald Trump should see this movie.”

One-sided Debate on the Deficit: Disaster or Delusion?

Art Laffer, John Tamny, Mark Skousen (moderator), Rob Arnott, and Alex Green

We also had a debate on the national debt and deficit spending, between Alex Green and Rob Arnott (who argued that the deficit was a serious threat) and Art Laffer and John Tamny (who thought it was not an imminent worry). Green and Arnott won this debate easily; in fact, not a single attendee voted for Laffer and Tamny! This chart shows why:

The Next Financial Crisis: What, Where and When?

Another controversial debate took place after the showing of the film “The Fall of 2008″ at the Anthem Film Festival. The panel included Steve Forbes, John Fund and Peter Schiff. The panelists raised the possibility of war, a pandemic, a dollar collapse and excessive national debt as the cause of the next financial crisis.

Peter Schiff was convinced that a major collapse was inevitable, given the huge unfunded liability problem, while Forbes and Fund were more sanguine and thought Americans would once again rise to the occasion and avert disaster when the crisis hits.

Was Ben Franklin a Buddhist?

FreedomFest is a Renaissance gathering, where we have sessions on philosophy, history, science and technology, healthy living, finance and geo-politics. Many sessions were jammed.

Mark Skousen and Eric Weiner.  Courtesy: Jose Cordeiro.

The session I shared with Eric Weiner, author of “Ben & Me,” was most memorable. He contends that Franklin adopted a Buddhist philosophy, endorsing the Eightfold Path of wisdom, discipline and right living. I disagreed, arguing that Franklin would reject the Buddhist philosophy that “life is suffering,” and the key to happiness is to reduce material desires. Rather, Franklin was an incurable optimist who always favored developing new ways to fulfill those desires through useful inventions, such as the Franklin stove, the lightning rod and the bifocal glasses and a representative government.

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C-SPAN Book TV’s Peter Slen Interviews Me

Peter Slen interviewed me about my Franklin book. It’s expected to appear on C-SPAN Book TV on July 5.

Super Early-Bird Discount at Next Year’s FreedomFest

We have set the dates and location for next year’s big show. We will be returning to Caesar’s Forum in Las Vegas for next year’s FreedomFest, July 8-11, 2026. Our theme will be “Think Independent,” in keeping with the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.

We are offering an incredible super “early bird” discount, which will end this month: https://freedomfest.swoogo.com/vegas2026

Good investing, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

You Nailed It

At FreedomFest over the weekend, Ross Ulbricht (of Silk Road fame) gave his first speech before a libertarian audience since he was pardoned by President Trump.

He spoke before an SRO crowd, the most powerful speech ever given at FreedomFest in my 18 years doing it. You could hear a pin drop. His revelations about the bad conditions in federal prisons were shocking. He got a standing ovation before and after his talk.

Watch it here (introduced by “Kennedy” of Fox News fame): Freedom Fighter: Liberty in the Digital Age | Ross Ulbricht

Ryan Holiday Takes Exception

At FreedomFest we try to offer alternative perspectives:  Stoic philosopher Ryan Holiday spoke the day before (Thursday) and denounced us for having him speak (“anyone who supports Ross Ulbricht is deranged”) because, according to Holiday, he facilitated deaths and criminal behavior on the Dark Web via anonymous bitcoin transactions.

We do not condone Ross’s behavior but felt that the sentence was extremely excessive (two life sentences plus 40 years) and violated the Constitution. Rep. Thomas Massie expressed this view: “Ross Ulbricht’s sentence is the greatest violation of the Eighth Amendment that I’m aware of in the United States today. The Eighth Amendment prohibits the federal government from exacting cruel and unusual punishment.”

After Ross’s impassioned speech, we gave an award to his mother Lyn Ulbricht at the Saturday night banquet for her extraordinary efforts to free her son. Without her untiring commitment, Ross would never have been pardoned.