In this monologue, TJ Walker critiques U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (referred to as Howard Lucknett) for admitting under oath that only one "Gold Card" visa— a $1 million investor visa—has been approved, contradicting earlier statements that 1,000 such visas had been sold. Walker frames the discrepancy as a stark example of political exaggeration under the Trump administration, arguing that the incentive structure now rewards massive, false claims rather than truth‑telling. He links this to a broader erosion of America’s global brand, noting that the U.S. is now viewed less favorably than China and that wealthy prospective immigrants are turning to countries like Canada and Portugal instead. Walker concludes with a promotional plug for his Ultimize program, which he says helps people overcome consistency problems in applying knowledge, offering free courses on communication and habit building.
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Ultimize. According to reporting on sworn testimony before Congress, Howard Lucknett admitted that only one buyer has actually been approved for the so-called Gold Card Visa program. He's our Secretary of Commerce. Now, he previously claimed on a podcast that 1,000 of these million-dollar gold visas had had been sold. Let's be clear on the scale here. This isn't a disagreement about interpretation. This isn't spin. This isn't, well, it depends on how you define sold. This is one, one, literally one sale versus 1,000 sales. And you can make the case fairly that every administration in history has occasionally shaded the truth. Politicians round numbers up. In their favor. They exaggerate accomplishments. They frame things in the most flattering possible light. Going from 920 and rounding it off to 1,000, okay, that's politics. But going from 1 to 1,000, that's not politics. That's Pinocchio with a nose that stretches from Des Moines, Iowa, all the way to the moon. The US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick just admitted under oath that only one person has been approved for a $1 million Gold Card visa after previously admitting he'd sold 1,000 of them. That's not rounding up. That isn't spin. This is the difference between 1 and 1,000. And historically, politicians at least tried to hide the gap. They'd hedge, they deflect, they'd act a little embarrassed if they got caught. But here, no embarrassment, no correction. There's no consequence. The message seems to be say whatever you want as long as it makes the administration, i.e., Trump, look good. And that's the bigger story here, because it's not just about one claim, it's about a pattern. In past administrations, Republican or Democratic, it was at least a basic understanding if you got caught lying, it was a problem. Maybe you walked it back, maybe you issued a clarification, you looked uncomfortable standing at the podium, at least sometimes you'd even lose your job. There was at least a sense that lying was risky, that it might cost you something. Now the incentive structure appears completely flipped. There's no penalty for saying something wildly untrue as long as it makes Trump look strong, successful, or victorious. In fact, the opposite seems closer to reality. If you repeat the message, if you amplify the narrative, if you say it confidently enough, you're protected, you're supported, your job is safe. Think about the incentive system this creates. If you're inside the administration, what's the safest move? Tell the truth, even if it makes the administration look bad, or tell a massive flattering story even if it's not remotely accurate. Because right now it appears the safer career move is to tell the bigger story, the more dramatic claim, the more impressive number, because no one is being punished for exaggerating success or just making it up out of whole cloth. But if you tell the truth and it contradicts the narrative, that's when people get sidelined. That's when people disappear. That's when people lose influence. And that's how you end up with something like this. That's not a small exaggeration, not a rounding error, but a claim so detached from reality that it feels surreal. 1 versus 1,000. That's not messaging. That's not miscommunication. It's just out-and-out demagoguery. And it's frankly, it's frankly despicable. My friends watching on YouTube, I had the wrong graphic up. Sorry about that. Gotta pay better and closer attention to that. So this gold card flop thing, what's left unsaid is at this stage, more and more people around the world don't want to come to America. I, yeah, I understand there's refugees who'd love to go anywhere other than where they are. And they are aspirational poor and middle-class people who would love to be able to come into the US for free. But the idea that people who are already successful in their own country, who have a million-plus dollars to pay an admission fee, they don't want to come to America anymore. They'd much rather go to Canada. They'd much rather go to Portugal. There's a million other places they'd rather go. Which is another reason why this, this whole plan has been such a disaster. So again, you step 1, destroy America's brand, which Trump has done well. We're now seen as less favorable than China. Communist China has a higher brand approval rating around the world than the United States. So step 1, trash our brand. Step 2, Try to make money on the brand by selling it for a million dollars. Step 3, no one buys it. Step 4, lie and say everyone's buying it. This is an absurdity. Thankfully, the one silver lining here is Americans seem to be getting it. This president is now the least popular president in half a century in America, and I'm hoping we haven't gotten anywhere close to the bottom yet. I frankly won't be happy until his approval rating is zero. Ever notice how we all say the same thing? I know what I need to do, I just need to do it. That sentence alone has probably cost people years of progress because knowing isn't the issue, it's having something that actually nudges you again and again to follow through. That's the whole idea behind Ultimise. So if you're getting anything out of this right now, take 10 seconds and go to ultimize.com. There's a free course waiting for you, communication skills, habits, your choice, and it's built to help you actually apply what you already know. It's totally free. Just go to ultimize.com, ultimize.com. I'll be honest with you, most people don't have a learning problem. They have a consistency problem. They'll watch something, listen to something, get fired up for a day, and then life takes over and everything resets. That's exactly the gap I'm trying to fix with Ultimize. So if you're getting something out of this show right now, go to ultimize.com, U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E, and get a free course. There's one on communication skills, one on building better habits. And the whole idea is to make this part of your daily routine, not a one-time thing. It's simple, it's free, and it actually works if you use it. Ultimize.com. Ultimize.
