TRANSCRIPT
Edith Marrow: Welcome back. I am Edith Marrow, your keeper of the tape archive. Today is July 18th, and as we roll through the tree rings of this calendar date, one thing becomes immediately clear: the scenery changes every year, but the volume never does.
Edith Marrow: We begin in 2022. On this day four years ago, our guest was fixated on a very specific athletic crossroads. He warned that golfers remaining loyal to the PGA would pay a big price when an inevitable merger with LIV arrived. In his view, those who didn't take the money now would get nothing later, while original signees were hailed as smart.
Edith Marrow: He also found time for Maryland politics that year, urging voters to reject what he called a Shutdown RINO governor and instead support Dan Cox. Meanwhile, in 2022, the market moved across equities and crypto; SPY, VIXY, IWM, BTC, and ETH all swung without pause.
Edith Marrow: By 2023, the tone shifted from sports strategy to legal theater. On this day last year's cycle, he claimed harassment by hours of grand jury proceedings involving Jack Smith, arguing that prosecutors were abusing power over election challenges. He characterized these actions as a dire threat to the rule of law.
Edith Marrow: The second post from 2023 was even more declarative: he labeled it a WITCH HUNT, accusing President Biden and his Justice Department of attempting to arrest him for political reasons. He insisted that such an indictment in the middle of a campaign had never happened before in our country.
Edith Marrow: As usual, while these words were posted on July 18th, 2023, the markets simply moved. SPY, QQQ, VIXY, IWM, and cryptocurrencies all reacted, but we have no record of them knowing about the witch hunt before they swung.
Edith Marrow: Fast forward to July 18th in 2024. The focus turned somber with a tribute to Lou Dobbs, whom he called an incredible journalist and friend who understood better than others what was happening in the world. He offered condolences to Dobbs' wife and family.
Edith Marrow: But the some number of that day's packet pivoted sharply back to election integrity. He shared a statement from Arizona Senate Republicans celebrating a Ninth Circuit ruling, claiming it meant voters without proof of citizenship would be rejected. The post quoted Warren Petersen calling this common sense and demanding Congress ensure only lawful citizens vote.
Edith Marrow: On that day in 2024, the market moved again. SPY, QQQ, VIXY, DJT, IWM, BTC, and ETH all shifted direction or magnitude, entirely oblivious to the Arizona court victory being celebrated.
Edith Marrow: And finally, we arrive at 2025, our most recent entry for this date. He opened with a full-throated endorsement of Congressman Mark Messmer in Indiana's 8th District, praising his record on farmers, energy dominance, and keeping gasoline prices very low.
Edith Marrow: The second post from 2025 was a declaration of war against the press. He announced he had filed a powerhouse lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, calling it a useless rag full of fake news. He named Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson as targets for depositions, alongside ABC, CBS, and what he called Fake Pulitzer Prizes.
Edith Marrow: He promised to hold these media figures accountable on behalf of the President—himself—and all Americans tired of abusive wrongdoings. As this legal broadside was launched in 2025, the market moved once more: SPY, QQQ, VIXY, IWM, energy stocks like XLE and ITA, financials like XLF, and crypto assets X:BTCUSD and X:ETHUSD all whipsawed.
Edith Marrow: So let us land on the drift. Look at what changed across these four years of July 18ths. In 2022 it was golf mergers; in 2023, a grand jury and election interference claims; in 2024, an obituary for Lou Dobbs and court rulings in Arizona; and by 2025, lawsuits against newspapers and endorsements of Indiana congressmen. The subject matter is entirely new every single year.
Edith Marrow: But what never does change? What remains constant across the tape archive?
Edith Marrow: It is that on this date, no matter how dire a threat to democracy seems or how historic a lawsuit claims to be, SPY moves. VIXY swings. Crypto whipsaws. The market does not stop for a merger prediction, a witch hunt accusation, an obituary, or a defamation suit against Rupert Murdoch.
Edith Marrow: The guest may shout about some number of dollars in PGA salaries or the abuse of power by prosecutors, but the archive shows that while he speaks with certainty about what is happening, the markets simply move. They have been moving since 2022 and they were still moving through 2025.
Edith Marrow: That is all for today's capsule from July 18th. I am Edith Marrow, signing off from the archive.
Edith Marrow: That's the show. We're on Spotify and YouTube — if this earned it: like, subscribe, tell a friend. And housekeeping: the machine that writes this gets tuned constantly for cleaner news. The numbers are real; the jokes are not.