Today President Donald J. Trump is holding a MAGA Rally at Nashville Municipal Auditorium, in Nashville, Tennessee. President Trump is scheduled around 7:00pm Central / 8:00pm Eastern; however there will be multiple rally participants prior to President Trump’s arrival.
Country music star Trace Adkins will warm up the crowd before President Trump takes the stage. President Trump is in Nashville on behalf of Senator Marsha Blackburn’s 2018 reelection bid.
UPDATE: Video Added
Buried in a Wall Street Journal article outlining their shock and horror over President Trump following through with a Phase-I trade penalty of $50 billion, you find the following quote from Captain Obvious at Cornell University:
“The Trump administration is clearly signaling, ahead of Wilbur Ross’s trip to Beijing, that the gloves are off given China’s unwillingness to agree to a trade deficit reduction target or to make broader trade concessions,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University professor of international trade. In addition, the “hardline stance may partly reflect the perception that China played a part in nearly derailing the Trump-Kim summit.” (link)
Gee, ya think?
The White House announced today it will clarify by June 15 a final list of $50 billion in imports from China that would be subject to tariffs of 25%, with the duties implemented “shortly thereafter.” Additionally, future investment restrictions aimed at preventing Chinese acquisition of American technology will be announced by June 30.
The 30-day extension on exemptions for Steel and Aluminum tariffs is scheduled to expire June 1st. President Trump is positioning the U.S. Trade Team for a substantial reset. According to reports, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystina Freeland held a terse meeting today over the tariffs and Canada’s unwillingness to close the NAFTA ‘fatal flaw‘ (loophole).
Both Canada and Mexico have structured key parts of their trade agreements to take advantage of their unique access to the U.S. market. Mexico and Canada generate billions in economic activity through exploiting the NAFTA loophole. China, Asia (writ large), and the EU enter into trade agreements with Mexico and Canada as back-doors into the U.S. market. So long as corporations can avoid U.S. tariffs by going through Canada and Mexico they will continue to exploit this approach.
If the U.S. applies the same tariffs to Canada and Mexico we apply to all trade nations, then the benefit of using Canada and Mexico -by those trade nations- is lost. Corporations will no longer have any advantage, and many are likely to just deal directly with the U.S. However, this would mean hundreds of billions in lost economic activity for Mexico and Canada. It is the NAFTA fatal flaw.
Byron York has an interesting article today outlining his interview with former Trump campaign official Sam Clovis. Within the article Clovis shares the unexpected contact he received, via email, from CIA Asset Stefan Halper. As shared:
“I am a professor at Cambridge University lecturing on US politics and foreign policy. I am what is called a ‘scholar practitioner,’ having served in the White House and four presidential campaigns — two as policy director. Over the past month I have been in conversation with Carter Page who attended our conference in Cambridge on US elections. Carter mentioned in Cambridge, and when visiting here in Virginia, that you and I should meet. I have enjoyed your comments and appearances in the media; you hit the sweet spot focusing Trump’s appeal to working America. May I suggest that we set a time to meet when you are next in Washington. Meanwhile, all the best, Stefan Halper.”
The York article then goes through the hindsight possibilities Sam Clovis now considers amid recent revelations the FBI was using Halper as an ‘agent provocateur’. Make sure you read it. However, journalist Byron York makes a critical assumptive mistake within his discussion with Mr. Clovis that misses a very important detail.
As York discuss the testimony delivered by Clovis to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), they cite further testimony by Carter Page. Unfortunately, both York and Clovis forget two critical points that must overlay any review of congressional inquiry.
George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley discusses the ramifications of the Obama administration conducting surveillance on the Trump campaign vis-a-vis ‘Spygate’, and the self-interested comments from former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates who participated in authorizing the DOJ national security division aspect to that surveillance.
Sally Yates signed the sketchy FISA Title-1 application against U.S. person Carter Page, a former low-level, unpaid, Trump campaign aide/policy adviser. Recent congressional investigations have revealed that much of the FISC application was based on intentionally constructed false human intelligence, and fraudulent representations to the FISA Court.
Two-and-a-half years ago Donald Trump, then a candidate, revealed his super secret strategy for dealing with North Korean nuclear weapons. When asked “what would you do?”:
•Senator Ted Cruz: Blame Clinton, then load up South Korea and Japan with proactive nuclear weapons.
•Senator Marco Rubio: Blame Obama, then prepare for war via South Korea and Japan.
•Governor John Kasich: Tell Japan to strike the DPRK.
•Governor Jeb Bush: Launch a pre-emptive strike against Kim Jong-un, now.
•Businessman Donald Trump: Punch China in the nose.
Watch:
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Guess which approach worked?
Interesting dynamics at play. President Trump has announced via Twitter the U.S. advance team has arrived in North Korea to position for a possible June 12th summit between President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.
(link)
Yesterday South Korean Prime Minister Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un held an impromptu summit/meeting in the DPRK to display their unified smiles.
The influence agent, Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping, has been unusually quiet since President Trump asserted that Chairman Xi was the agent provocateur behind Kim Jong-un’s diplomatic bi-polarism. Apparently, Chairman Xi did not anticipate President Trump being so public with the sunlight; and there’s no way Xi anticipated the economic consequences POTUS Trump outlined in the 232 Auto-Sector review.
Margaret Brennan starts off the interview asking former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper why presidential candidate Donald Trump would not have been informed of any potential issue if the intelligence community was truly concerned about Russia interfering in the election.
Watch his response; and more specifically listen to the language. “Tactical judgement”? Even the words he uses to explain the non-action involves admission of an operation:
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Note how Clapper states he is unaware of the “predicate” for the FBI origination of the Spygate operation. Also note the proactive briefing mentioned for both campaigns was specifically framed around “cyber-intrusion”.
President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani discusses current issues surrounding Special Counsel Robert Mueller, SpyGate and the vast interplanetary Russian conspiracy theory:
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Mr. Giuliani also appeared on CNN for an interview with Dana Bash.
After the sandwich-maker summit the two Korean boys held hands and began skipping in circles around the park while the band played Ode To Joy. So goes the end of the latest chapter in the ongoing komance between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in.
If you don’t believe it, just look at this quote directly from Reuters:
…”Kim said he feels closer to Moon after talking again.”
SEOUL (Reuters) – After a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump keeps his planned meeting with Kim in June, Seoul-based news agency Yonhap reported Sunday. (link)
Additionally, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “his fixed will” on a possible June 12 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in a meeting on Saturday with the president of South Korea, North Korea’s state news agency said. During what it called in-depth discussions, Kim and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in agreed to hold high-level talks between their two nations on June 1, news agency KCNA said. (more)