Senator Tom Cotton appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss recent reporting showing cell phone in/around Wuhan China showed road-blocks and/or a containment zone was mysterious set up in October of 2019.  The suspicion is that China knew the virus had escaped the Wuhan bio-lab and was taking effort to contain the spread of the virus.

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These suspicions fall on the heels of additional confirmation that Beijing asked the World Health Organization not to reveal human-to-human transmission of the virus at the same time.

Stay big picture. After three years of Beijing losing the geopolitical confrontation to President Trump…. Think about what you know of the aggressive Communist and zero-sum disposition of China. Keep in mind these new reports from intelligence research are pointing to a biologic release in/around October of 2019.   Now consider this timeline overlay…

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White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro appears for an interview with Maria Bartiromo.  As a China hawk Navarro outlines the economic damage from a perspective where China needs to be held accountable.

One of the ways to hold Beijing accountable is to retract all U.S. business interests and decouple from China.  The White House is currently using a task-force approach to assemble the background evidence.  Once assembled, many people suspect President Trump will initiate very strong policies against China (including tariffs) simultaneously timed with tax incentives for U.S. companies to return manufacturing back to the U.S.

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If you think about the economic vulnerabilities currently carried by China, it is entirely possible for USTR Lighthizer, Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Ross and Peter Navarro to structure serious financial punishment upon the Red Dragon.

At no time in the past twenty years has Beijing been more vulnerable to an economic adversary.  At the same time, there has never been a more strategic economic adversary in the oval office. This is a conspicuously remarkable moment in history.

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Earlier this morning President Trump called-in to Fox and Friends morning broadcast for a lengthy interview.  You can tell there are aspects to the interview adverse to the political interests of Fox News by the fact they did not present the interview for distribution.

However, that said, here’s a copy of the broadcast where President Trump discusses the efforts of the previous administration to target him and eliminate his presidency. If you want to understand President Trump’s perspective on FBI Director Chris Wray skip to @13:00 point of video; and comments on Jeff Sessions @15:20.

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Earlier today President Donald J. Trump will met with Republican Members of Congress in the State Dining Room to discuss policies to make America’s economy strong again. Video Below – Transcript ADDED:

Attending from the administration: Mark Meadows, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff; Jared Kushner, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor; Dan Scavino, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications; Larry Kudlow, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council; Eric Ueland, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs; Christopher Cox, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs for House; Kevin Hassett, Senior Advisor Trump Administration; Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury.

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Participating congressional leadership included: Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY)

[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Hi, everybody. Please, sit down. Get things done. Nobody gets it done like we do.

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National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow appears on Fox Business to discuss today’s report on jobs from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The estimated  unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent. Kudlow brings up a good point: allow people to take a tax deduction for COVID-19 expenses.

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It is hard to look at employment numbers like this because behind every data point is a person or family who have been compromised by the lack of a job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent.

The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the COVID-19 mitigation and the economic efforts to contain it. Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality.

(Read More Here)

In April, employment in leisure and hospitality plummeted by 7.7 million, or 47 percent. Almost three-quarters of the decrease occurred in food services and drinking places (-5.5 million). Employment also fell in the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry (-1.3 million) and in the accommodation industry (-839,000). (read more)

Earlier today President Trump met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to discuss ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19.  During the press availability President Trump took multiple questions from the pool. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have Governor Greg Abbott with us. He’s a very special governor. He’s a done a phenomenal job. Texas is — well, it’s sort of like the U.S. We were both booming, and now it’s still booming, but it’s going to be booming at the highest level very soon, I project.

GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Exactly.

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Today the Texas Supreme Court ordered the release of jailed salon owner Shelley Luther, just hours after Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a retroactive order eliminating punishment for violating stay-at-home orders.

“Throwing Texans in jail whose biz’s shut down through no fault of their own is wrong,” Mr. Abbott tweeted. “I am eliminating jail for violating an order, retroactive to April 2, superseding local orders.” He added, “Criminals shouldn’t be released to prevent COVID-19 just to put business owners in their place.”

Moments later a tearful and thankful Shelley Luther was released from jail and delivered remarks. [Video prompted to 05:08]

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Mrs. Shelly Luther probably did not expect to take this role, but the rebellious Texas salon owner has become the face of resistance to overbearing totalitarian dictates.

Mrs. Luther opened her salon in defiance of the economic shutdown that was causing financial ruin for her and her employees.

As a result Texas Judge Eric Moye sentenced her to a week in jail. Facing massive public outcry and support for Luther the Texas Attorney General and Governor are now asking Dallas County authorities to let her out of jail.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has called for the “immediate release” of a Dallas salon owner who was arrested and sent to jail for opening her business in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home orders.

Paxton said he believes the judge is abusing his authority and that her arrest seems like a “political stunt.” In a full statement, Paxton said:

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Senior economic adviser to President Trump, Kevin Hassett, discusses the latest data showing over 20 million people have lost their jobs due to the Wuhan Virus. Hassett notes the administration is ready for a phase-4 financial package if necessary; but waiting to measure the impact of states beginning to reopen.

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