President Trump often holds local media Q&A’s when discussing specific local aspects to larger trade and economic initiatives.  In this quick interview with Charles Benson President Trump discusses the Foxconn deal (more on that will follow), and the larger issue surrounding a global trade reset objective (important video below).
As steps are taken within the America-First economic initiatives, many people are overlooking President Trump’s ultimate goal of a complete global reset in trade.  The Trump administration wants all trade tariffs and trade barriers removed so that all nations can compete on an even field.
In order to achieve that goal, POTUS Trump is applying the process of reciprocity; assigning an identical U.S. trade standard as the country being confronted.
The international community cannot negotiate (in good faith), from an adversarial position, against an identical trade policy they apply toward the U.S.
However, until today no President has ever called out the global trade hypocrisy; let alone challenged it directly.   President Trump will not back down from this approach. The international trade community is just now realizing that fact.
Within the process of negotiation to achieve this reset, President Trump begins to apply the principles of reciprocal trade tariffs.  This is the first phase; this is where we are now.
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National Economic Council Chairman Larry “Kuddles” Kudlow is back after suffering a mild heart attack. [Yikes, “mild“, is there such a thing?]
Appearing on TV with Stuart Varney Chairman Kudlow explains how the administration hopes to use the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) to enhance U.S. trade policy.  Mr. Varney cannot comprehend Trump-speed in achieving a global trade reset:

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While media wasn’t paying attention, President Trump brilliantly played congress to gain strategic trade leverage.  Knowing political opposition would unite, POTUS Trump took a forgiving position toward Chinese company ZTE; Trump-haters and NeverTrumpers quickly aligned to push through hammer legislation designed to hurt China and by extension Trump’s position.  However, Trump actually wanted the tool.  POTUS now weaponizes FIRRMA as trade leverage against all 301 targets.   Brilliant.
USTR Robert Lighthizer Final 301 Report on China Trade Infractions HERE
Part 2 of Kudlow interview below:
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Good news within a strenuously spun Reuters article. Don’t get lost looking at the granules; apparently all of the prior Canadian strategy against President Trump has failed.
For well over a year Justin from Canada and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland were confident they could leverage the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, purchased DC politicians and ideological allies against President Trump in NAFTA negotiations. The result? Fail, fail and more fail.

Running out of options, Canada now attempts to save their NAFTA construct by turning to the executives within the auto industry:

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s trade minister last week met senior officials from General Motors Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in Detroit, as Ottawa takes its lobbying effort directly to the Big Three carmakers to avert potential U.S. auto tariffs.
The Liberal government is relying on industry partners to press Canada’s cause in the White House and elsewhere, using their influence to protect Canadian interests, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

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Tonight President Trump attends a ‘Make America Great Again’ rally in Fargo, North Dakota.  Co-hosting the rally is Congressman Kevin Cramer, hoping to unseat ND Senator Heidi Heitkamp in the 2018 midterms. Anticipated start time 7:00pm CDT / 8:00pm EDT With pre-rally speakers and events starting earlier
UPDATE: Video Added

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Earlier today Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy had a meeting with President Donald Trump to notify the president of his intended retirement announcement.   A few hours later Justice Kennedy made the announcement public.
In a letter to President Trump, Kennedy wrote “it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court,” and he expressed his “profound gratitude for having had the privilege to seek in each case how best to know, interpret, and defend the Constitution and the laws that must always conform to its mandates and promises.”
The decision by the 81-year-old justice is all but certain to kick off a pitched confirmation battle because of the likelihood for his successor to move the court’s future decisions on a number of significant issues.
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In a decision that holds massive up-front ramifications for Democrats, the Supreme Court ruled today (full pdf below) that non-union members cannot be forced to pay for union representation.  This is a devastating blow to the Big Club political caucus.
The justices said in a 5-4 opinion that state government workers who choose not to join a union cannot be compelled to pay a share of union dues for covering the cost of negotiating contracts.  This allows state union workers to withdraw funding for the political aspirations and objectives of union leadership who work against their interests.
At the top of the hierarchy, union executives, multinational corporate executives and K-Street lobbyists, work in synergy to maximize financial benefits for a select group of interests known as The Big Club.  The corrupt operations carried out over the past four  decades fuel the UniParty; which is comprised of both democrat and republican political apparatus.  Today’s decision permits the removal of forced payments from the bottom of the Big Club pyramid scheme.
With an America-First independent voice in President Trump occupying the White House, the BIG CLUB already lost access to economic policy manipulation.  Today’s supreme court decision means even more downstream consequences.
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Earlier today President Trump delivered remarks to student and university leadership during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:

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[Transcript] 12:18 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. It’s a young, very good-looking group of people. I hate it. I hate that. Please sit down. Great looking group. I’d like to be your age. (Laughter.) No, I’d love it. How much? Charlie, you’re doing a great job. Great job. Thank you very much.
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Ms. Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of The Red Hen restaurant who kicked out White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders – then followed her family into another restaurant to continue the harassment, has resigned from her role with Main Street Lexington, a local business organization.
As anticipated, Ms. Wilkinson was/is facing massive backlash from local Lexington, VA business leaders, and a very upset surrounding community, for her short-sighted political bigotry and rabid anti-Trump bias. Video Below:

LEXINGTON, Va. – Stephanie Wilkinson has resigned from her role with Main Street Lexington, a volunteer-based organization.  Elizabeth Outland Branner, the president of the organization, accepted Wilkinson’s resignation Tuesday morning.
“Considering the events of the past weekend, Stephanie felt it best that for the continued success of Main Street Lexington, she should step aside,” Branner wrote in an email.  (link)

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Quick, with MAGA-shocking news reverberating there’s a mid-west rush on winnamins.
Remember that massive MAGA Trump rally last week in Duluth Minnesota? That would be the 9,000 strong rally where twice as many were turned away?
Well, the data team at MAGA HQ have crunched the numbers and Brad Parscale shares the results: “The crowd at the Minnesota rally was 60% Democrat and Independent.”

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There is an article from Bloomberg which finally concedes the obvious economic and trade dynamic within a U.S. -vs- China confrontation.  The media paradigm shift is based on new statements from Chinese Ministers admitting they cannot win a trade confrontation with U.S. President Trump.
The summary reason is simple, we have discussed it frequently:
China is a production-based economic model, they do not have the ability, or wealth, to consume their own durable goods production; they rely on exports.
The U.S. is a more balanced economy; we consume 80% of our own production.  We are self-sustaining, China is not.
Without a market to sell their products, the Chinese economy cannot survive.
Conversely, China has focused so intensely on durable-goods manufacturing, their consumable goods market (food) is dependent; they cannot feed themselves.  The U.S. can survive without exporting food, China cannot survive without importing food.  The U.S. economy can survive without importing durable goods; the Chinese economy cannot survive without exporting durable goods.  This is the unavoidable trade reality.  As a consequence President Trump has all the factual leverage.
In stunning, and carefully worded economic writings, Chinese academics and economic ministers are now talking about the inherent weakness of the Red Dragon policies:
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