It is being reported by multiple media outlets and their sources that Dr. Sebastian Gorka has parted ways with the White House.  Some reports say ‘forced out‘, others say ‘resigned’; it matters not.  Gorka was staff; simply staff, nothing more than staff; he and Bannon can go make cucumber sandwiches now.
Dr. Gorka was essentially a Steve Bannon employee in the administration; Gorka reported to Bannon, and Gorka took instructions from Bannon.  With General Kelly creating a formal chain of contact and message discipline within the White House; and with Gorka’s boss having resigned a week ago; it was entirely predictable that Gorka would leave.

Dr. Sebastian Gorka had been on a semi-hiatus since a week prior to Bannon’s departure when Gorka appeared on national television and did a big stupid.  Gorka asserting he held influence over Defense Secretary General Mattis and claiming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was “nonsensical” and did not know the Administration’s military agenda toward North Korea.

“The idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical,” Gorka said at the time. “It is the job of [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis, the secretary of defense, to talk about the military options, and he has done so unequivocally.” (link)

Anyone noticing a pattern here?
Yup, just like Steve Bannon claiming only he was skilled enough to direct U.S. foreign policy engagement from the State Department, Sebastian Gorka was way out of line with is “nonsensical” Tillerson statement. It’s not accidental that Bannon’s statements and Gorka’s statements were similarly framed.
To the extent you can know anyone from watching them, I like Bannon and Gorka. But, c’mon, I mean seriously… what level of stupid arrogance is needed for Bannon and Gorka to think they held free reign to undermine Cabinet Officers?  Have neither of these guys worked in a large corporate and/or institutional system where you understand your role and the number one rule: “never compromise your leadership.”
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Prior to last nights intensely enjoyable MAGA rally in Phoenix Arizona CTH was wondering if President Trump would trigger “The Big Ugly“; the looming and necessary battle with the professional republican DC apparatus.
All the key ingredients were there: A challenger for Senator Jeff Flake; prior statements from both Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan in opposition to the President; the perfect geography to highlight the GOPe’s 800lb open-border agenda; the failure to repeal Obamacare because of an Arizona senator; the border wall, etc.
The righteous list is long and the timing looked about right.

The Arizona stage was almost perfect for President Trump to begin the final conflict, the direct battle against the corrupt decepticons within the republican party. The goal would be fulfillment of a destiny we all know has to happen: To destroy the Professional Republican Party apparatus and every non-MAGA Republican politician within it.
But he didn’t.
Oh sure, President Trump came closer to launching the Big Ugly political MOAB than ever before.  He walked right up to the line, flipped open the Zippo; with a glint in his eye Trump knelt down grinning at the fuse, winking at the audience…. but he didn’t ignite it.
Nope, the timing wasn’t just right yet.
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There are Trillions of Dollars at Stake. CTH has been highlighting the hidden motivation for years.  Opposition is all about the economics folks.
Against President Trump’s promise to renegotiate trade deals, withdraw from TPP and TTIP, walk away from the fraudulent economic scheme within the Paris Climate Treaty, and renegotiate or pull out of NAFTA.  Well,… it’s called a strategy session folks:

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At the end of the first round of NAFTA renegotiations, Sunday, I shared a confidence level of “3” on a 10 point scale; as to whether a deal was likely. [Explained Here]
On Monday Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer debriefed President Trump the on the results of the first round (5 days).   USTR Lighthizer and Secretary Ross were both at the White House during the eclipse viewing.
On Tuesday, following that briefing, President Trump shares his opinion on NAFTA. WATCH:

.
Remember, this statement follows the discussions with Ross and Lighthizer a day earlier.  It would appear that President Trump did not like the information they shared.  Knowing that POTUS Trump isn’t going to accept or compromise on an economic deal that doesn’t fix the issues; and knowing he’s wanted to walk away from NAFTA in favor of bilateral trade deals from the outset; I might need to lower my confidence to a “1” or lower…
Super-Mega-MAGA-Winning! (more…)

We are only posting this outline to highlight clear and convincing evidence of how the Trump Doctrine assigns ownership; and how to see it in play when broadcast by MSM.

Reuters Headline: “Pakistan must adopt a different approach to terrorism”…

It’s not accidental. This is a repeating pattern.  –EXAMPLES HERE– This is the “Trump Doctrine at work; yet for some reason the majority of media and news consumers cannot see the strategy.  President Trump, and team, have assigned responsibility for bringing the Taliban to the table of deconfliction in Afghanistan to Pakistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that Pakistan must adopt a different approach to terrorism and the United States will condition its support on Islamabad’s delivering results in this area.
“There’s been an erosion in trust because we have witnessed terrorist organizations being given safe haven inside of Pakistan to plan and carry out attacks against U.S. servicemen, U.S. officials, disrupting peace efforts inside of Afghanistan,” Tillerson told reporters in the State Department.

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A very familiar pattern is emerging as President Trump turns his attention toward solving the ongoing issues within Afghanistan. A very uniquely Trumpian geopolitical strategy based on assigned ownership, economics and self-interest.
Last night as President Trump addressed the nation to discuss the ongoing conflict within Afghanistan he took the first step: Trump assigned strategic ownership to Pakistan:

[…] “The next pillar of our new strategy is to change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan. We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond.
“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists. In the past, Pakistan has been a valued partner. Our militaries have worked together against common enemies.

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Angela Merkel is essentially the de-facto global head of modern political liberalism.  The central tenet, almost religious-based in its importance, is the lunacy within “climate change”.  However, as most reasonable people have concluded, the ‘climate discussions’ are more about controlled global economics than any actual concerns about planetary climatology.   Bottom line, it’s the economics that really matter beyond all else.
Backdrop – The day after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Treaty, the German auto-sector immediately responded with a statement.  We see the immediate admission that ‘climate’ is simply a tool to shape global economics within that reactionary auto industry statement (emphasis mine):

(Via Reuters) […] “The regrettable announcement by the USA makes it inevitable that Europe must facilitate a cost efficient and economically feasible climate policy to remain internationally competitive,” Matthias Wissmann, president of the German auto industry lobby group VDA, said in a statement on Friday.

“The preservation of our competitive position is the precondition for successful climate protection. This correlation is often underestimated,” Wissmann said, adding that the decision by the Unites States was disappointing. (link)

As clearly stated, when push comes to shove German sensibilities are connected more to their economics than to any do-gooder need to save the planet.  This reality, in combination with upcoming German elections, sets the stage for Angela Merkel’s statement today, three months later: (more…)

The Canadian Prime Virtue-Signaler, Justin Trudeau, appears to be backtracking on his pledge for a borderless open society in Canada.

Since telling the world they would take in all refugees regardless of consequences, well, all the refugees started showing up.   Now Justin from Canada is telling refugees they are “irregular” and will not be tolerated.  Quite a change in position.

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who once took to Twitter to welcome Syrian refugees into the country, said on Sunday that there would be “no advantage” to entering “irregularly.”
“Canada is an opening and welcoming society,” he told reporters in Montreal following talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. “But let me be clear. We are also a country of laws. Entering Canada irregularly is not an advantage. There are rigorous immigration and customs rules that will be followed. Make no mistake.”

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This is one of those paradigm shift CTH predictions that many people scoffed at back in 2015/2016 when we discussed a Trump federal budget, and how Washington DC politicians would respond to a president who actually planned to cut spending.  Back in February we warned:

[…] The UniParty is going to fight hard, very hard, to retain their spending. Don’t be surprised to see GOPe “conservatives” demanding President Trump spend more money. We have been repeating this warning since he announced his bid for the presidency in 2015. (link)

Today’s headline reads “Fears Grow That Trump Could Ignore Congress on Spending“. Traditional thinking, at first glance of the headline, would be the President might ignore budgetary levels and spend more than he should. However, in reality, the paradigm shift is the exact opposite.  DC is worried that President Trump won’t spend enough money.
Let that sink in for a minute.
THAT’S a prime example of: A.) evidence of the DC UniParty; and, B.) how ridiculously dysfunctional and broken the federal budgetary and spending process has become.  DC lawmakers are now consulting attorneys and planning to sue the President and force him to spend money.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers and activists are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump’s administration, in its zeal to slash the federal budget, will take the rare step of deliberately not spending all the money Congress gives it — a move sure to trigger legal and political battles.

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(Via Fox News) Imran Awan, a former IT aide for Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was indicted Thursday on four counts including bank fraud and making false statements. The indictment also includes his wife Hina Alvi.

The grand jury decision in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes roughly a month after Awan was arrested at Dulles airport in Virginia trying to board a plane to Pakistan, where his family is from.
Awan and other IT aides for House Democrats have been on investigators’ radar for months over concerns of possible double-billing, alleged equipment theft, and access to sensitive computer systems. Most lawmakers fired Awan in February, but Schultz had kept him on until his arrest in July.
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