Earlier today U.S. President Trump and Ireland Prime Minister Varadkar held a press availability prior to their bilateral meeting. [Video and Transcript Below]
.
[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you all very much. It’s an honor to be with the Prime Minister of Ireland. We’ve known each other now for quite a while, and we have a great relationship and a great relationship with Ireland. And we have a lot to discuss.
We will be talking about the obvious, and we’ll also be talking about the virus that’s hit the world. I see they’ve cancelled their big soccer games, their championship games, and a lot of other games. They’ve cancelled a lot over in Europe and all over the world. So this is big world problem.
The level of media opposition and snark against President Trump is simply so ridiculous at this point there’s a desperation to it. So let us consider…
From the outset of Donald Trump’s entry into the world of politics he espoused a series of key tenets around what he called his “America-First” objectives:
The U.S. needed to have control over our borders, and a greater ability to control who was migrating to the United States. A shift toward stopping ‘illegal’ migration.
The U.S. needed to stop the manufacture of goods overseas and return critical manufacturing back to the United States. A return to economic independence.
The U.S. needed to decouple from an over-reliance on Chinese industrial and consumer products. China viewed as a geopolitical and economic risk.
Donald Trump was alone on these issues. No-one else was raising them; no-one else was so urgently pushing that discussion. In 2015, 2016 and even 2017, no-one other than Trump was talking about how close we were to the dependence point of no return.
Given the status of very consequential issues stemming from the Chinese Coronavirus threat; and the myriad of serious issues with critical supply chain dependencies; wasn’t President Trump correct in his warnings and proposals?
In early 2017 President Trump and his administration coined the phrase: “economic security is national security”, and the economic team set about starting a very complex process to ensure the past three decades of trade policy was reversed. (more…)
Tonight President Trump delivered an address to the nation on the issues surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. [Transcript and video below]
[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans: Tonight, I want to speak with you about our nation’s unprecedented response to the coronavirus outbreak that started in China and is now spreading throughout the world.
Today, the World Health Organization officially announced that this is a global pandemic.
We have been in frequent contact with our allies, and we are marshaling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people.
This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history. I am confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures, we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens, and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus. (more…)
President Trump previously took executive action under sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, to restrict entry from China, Hong Kong, Iran and South Korea. Today President Trump is extending entry restrictions to the EU “Schengen Area”.
The EU nations impacted include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
This is a prudent step because these are EU nations, under their collective assembly, who permit unrestricted travel without border enforcement or containment measures.
[The Proclamation ] – On January 31, 2020, I issued Proclamation 9984 (Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus and Other Appropriate Measures To Address This Risk). I found that the potential for widespread transmission of a novel (new) coronavirus (which has since been renamed “SARS-CoV-2” and causes the disease COVID-19) (“SARS-CoV-2” or “the virus”) by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security. (more…)
Tonight at 9:00pm ET, President Donald Trump will address the nation on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from the Oval Office. The address will be carried live on most major news broadcasts with additional livestream links below.
The Supreme Court announced today the Trump administration may continue to enforce the “Remain in Mexico” policy requiring asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico pending a review of their claims.
A lower court deemed the program illegal and ordered a suspension that was scheduled to take effect Thursday. However the Supreme Court stay allows the Trump administration Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) to remain in force:
(White House) – Today’s order from the Supreme Court is a major victory for the Trump Administration. By allowing the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) to remain in effect, the Court has prevented dangerous chaos at the southern border, avoided a significant escalation in public health threats, and mitigated damage to foreign relations.
Earlier today President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin held a meeting of key banking executives to discuss the economic impacts of COVID-19, banking stability and financial mitigation. [Video and Transcript Below]
Attendees include: Rob Nichols, President and CEO, America Bankers Association; Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Bank of America; Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO, Blackstone; Ken Griffin, CEO, Citadel; Michael Corbat, CEO, Citigroup; Richard Hunt, President and CEO, Consumer Bankers Association; David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.;Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Independent Community Bankers of America; Gordon Smith, Co-President and COO, JPMorgan Chase; Kelly King, Chairman and CEO, Truist Financial Corporation; Andrew Cecere, Chairman, President and CEO, U.S. Bank and Charlie Scharf, CEO and President, Wells Fargo & Company.
.
[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. And we are having a meeting — a very important meeting — with the, I would say, the greatest bankers in the world, the most important banks in the world, financial centers, and having a good discussion. We’re discussing the economy. We’re discussing how it relates to jobs and all of the things that are happening right now with the virus that we’ve become so familiar with. (more…)
Amid growing fears and uncertainty over the threat of Coronavirus; and after numerous meetings with legislators, cabinet officials and economic advisors from the private and government sector; President Trump has announced he will address the nation from the oval office at 9:00pm ET tonight:
Earlier in the day President Trump also sent the following tweets about the issues.
Hunter Biden had attempted to use his fear of coronavirus in his attempt to avoid a deposition in a paternity and child support lawsuit against him. However, Arkansas Judge Holly Meyer was having none of it. [Ruling and order pdf] The judge rejected all of the claims by Hunter Biden and told him to appear in court.
However, now that Hunter’s father, Joe Biden, is the presumptive Democrat nominee for president… it doesn’t come as a surprise to discover that early this morning a deal was reached to end the paternity and child support lawsuit. (more…)
Bernie Sanders came into mini-Tuesday hoping for Michigan and Washington State to help him stay within closing distance of DNC favorite Joe Biden. However, Bernie was crushed in Mississippi, Missouri and Michigan by the machine – not by Joe Biden.
Bernie was left with a possible 50/50 split in Washington State where over 125,000 voters mailed-in ballots for Elizabeth Warren (mailed prior to withdrawal), not accidental, all by Club design. The Club is in control now, full control; and Biden is the malleable vessel the administrative state hopes to utilize to take control of all government function.
Bernie lost the heavily union influenced state of Michigan by over 200,000 votes (53/37); many of those union votes were against losing their Cadillac healthcare plans. A stunning defeat for Senator Sanders in a state he narrowly carried in 2016. The losses in Mississippi (81 to 15) and Missouri (60 to 35) were by even wider proportions.
Michigan was a big loss because…. To make matters worse, Bernie Sanders now sees the Club has out maneuvered his last remaining hope. Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Arizona all vote on March 17th.
Florida (219 delegates) is a lost cause. ‘Fidel’ Sanders will likely see a similar outcome he received in Mississippi, no delegates. Illinois (155 delegates), like Michigan, is under the full control of the Club – no viable hope. Bernie’s road-map included Ohio (136 delegates), but the Club knee-capped him on that possibility; intentionally and smartly, by cancelling all indoor rallies under the auspices of Coronavirus. That only leaves Arizona (67 delegates); but by then it’s likely too late, and the best possibility is another 50/50 split.
So Bernie Sanders campaign is done. (more…)
