While the U.S. media loves to talk about President Trump’s approval rating when it’s bad news, what they fail to discuss is how President Trump has consistently higher approval ratings than: •President Macron, France; •Prime Minister May, Great Britain; or •Chancellor Merkel of Germany.
According to Zogby Analytics:

♦ President Trump approval 42 percent
♦ Chancellor Merkel approval 40 percent
♦ President Macron approval 28 percent
♦ Prime Minister May approval 28 percent

That means President Trump has the highest approval rating compared to the leaders of largest economic countries in Europe.  However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise because it was evident in Germany’s recent election that Merkel -in victory- had less support in Germany than President Trump holds in the U.S.  Go figure…
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Holy Cats… things are moving exponentially fast now…
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now disclosing the nature of his resignation, and why he left Lebanon to spend time in Saudi Arabia.  It appears the Saudi and regional partners provided evidence that Iran and Hezbollah were planning an assassination targeting Hariri and his family.
Saad Hariri traveled to France for a meeting with French President Emanuel Macron.
Yesterday President Trump and President Macron had a phone conversation where they agreed on the need for continued cooperation and partnership with regional allies, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Gulf States and coalition members to confront the destabilizing efforts of Iran and Hezbollah:

JEDDAH: US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday agreed on the need to partner with allies to respond to the destabilization activities of Hezbollah and Iran in the region.
The two leaders’ telephone conversation came in the aftermath of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation, which he announced during a recent trip to Saudi Arabia.
“Both presidents agreed on the need to work with allies to counter Hizballah’s and Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” a statement from the White House said.

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[Extensive Regional Back-Story after Presser and MSM report] – Earlier today Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford held a press conference to discusses the four U.S. deaths during a mission in Niger on October 3rd and 4th.  General Dunford walks through the initial timeline as an investigation is ongoing:

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WASHINGTON — An emerging theory among U.S. military investigators is that the Army Special Forces soldiers ambushed in Niger were set up by terrorists, who were tipped off in advance about a meeting in a village sympathetic to local ISIS affiliates, three U.S. officials who have been briefed on the matter told NBC News.
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“MAGAnomics” is about gaining serious economic benefits for the middle-class; the “Trump Doctrine” is about securing the national security interests of the U.S. through economic leverage and economic partnerships; put them together and you have Boeing Airline Manufacturer signing a deal with Singapore Airlines worth almost $14 billion and providing 70,000 U.S. Jobs.
During the diplomatic White House visit between Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and U.S. President Donald Trump the leaders of Boeing and Singapore Airlines signed the deal. Watch:

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But wait, there’s a strategic aspect to this deal.  In the background, and generally invisible to an oblivious U.S. media, you’ll note the Trump administration (Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary of State Tillerson) are  on the verge of quashing a deal between Boeing and Iran.
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears with Mari Bartiromo to discuss the Iranian nuclear agreement and specifically President Trump’s call for revised security terms.
For those who travel through the deep geopolitical grass, this interview is particularly important as Netanyahu outlines the ‘why now’ aspect.  Note specifically how the Prime Minister frames the economic leverage strategy we have discussed –Backstory Here– and how the regional allies President Trump has assembled are all in concert with the larger objectives.  It’s actually a little surprising to see Netanyahu ‘out’ the Big picture.

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In the background, and as a direct counter to how President Trump is using the Trump Doctrine of economic leverage, you will note that China, Russia, Iran and other state adversaries are creating a financial network to avoid their exposure to U.S. trade currency leverage.  Their strategic action is what’s driving up the value of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin as tools to avoid Trump’s leverage and Secretary Mnuchin’s aligned economic policy influence.
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Just because western media doesn’t understand how President Trump executes a geopolitical strategy based on economic leverage, that doesn’t mean adversaries are not fully aware of the effectiveness of the approach.
The Trump Doctrine has two avenues toward dealing with national security adversaries.
The first route is direct assignment of responsibility toward the enablers: see China for North Korea; The Gulf States for Qatar (Sunni extremism); Russia for Syrian terrorism (Assad); and Pakistan for Afghanistan (Taliban); as recent examples.

However, when the geopolitical threat stems directly from the enabler, and not the enabled, the Trump Doctrine has a distinctly different and far more encompassing, approach.  Route two goes through leveraging regional allies and partners: See ASEAN and India for ¹China; and France, Poland, Baltic States for ²Russia.  And now President Trump is beginning to shift toward ³Iran.
In each case: China, Russia and Iran, unlike Western media, these powers assemble volumes of research to assist them in understanding the most likely sequence of events President Trump will take.
When we say volumes of research, we indeed mean hundreds of people researching and drafting position documents based upon every scintilla of every deal Donald J Trump has engaged in.  No expenses are spared as these state actors assemble information toward their own strategy to counter the most unpredictable adversary they have faced.
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Beijing (China) is attempting to “trigger” President Trump’s internal neo-con and militaristic opposition. Stay frosty, avoid emotional reports demanding military engagement, and remain steady with a high altitude perspective.
Multiple reports now confirming that North Korea has conducted a missile test. The flight path escalates the issues by crossing over part of Northern Japan. In essence, Beijing China just threw an elbow at President Trump. [The likely “Why” follows breaking report]

TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired a missile that passed over northern Japan early on Tuesday, the Japanese government said. The government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions, but public broadcaster NHK said there was no sign of damage.
The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:06 a.m. local time (2106 GMT). (Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking to reporters in Tokyo after the launch, said the missile appeared to have passed over airspace and that the government was urgently collecting intelligence on the incident and doing everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, according to remarks broadcast on NHK, Bloomberg News reports.
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It must be pointed out; it is up to us to do so.  The corporate media are hopelessly deficient in their coverage and explanations of how strategic objectives for national security are being delivered through a Trump Doctrine via economic leverage.  The results are stunningly effective, yet few have noticed, and even fewer seem willing to articulate.

The latest example of the geopolitical Trump Doctrine in action comes via Venezuela, and in the wake of a fraudulent Maduro election – the Trump administration’s economic and financial policy delivering sanctions against the rogue Maduro regime:

(Via LA Times) The Trump administration on Friday slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new financial deals with the government or state-run oil giant PDVSA.
The sanctions Trump signed by executive order are bound to dramatically escalate tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. and exacerbate the country’s economic crisis.

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As you know CTH takes a different approach at significant world events. We try to share the untold stories as they shake out, in real time, in granular details not noted by the MSM.  We discuss the stuff on the way to the destination.  That way when we arrive at a ‘way point’ we have a historic reference, a back-story, to comprehend consequential headlines when they happen.
With that in mind, here’s another non-discussed granular detail, spotted recently, building toward a much more significant geopolitical outcome, vis-a-vis Russia.
You might remember on August 4th President Trump and French President Emmanuel had a phone call.  The outline of the phone conversation is HERE, but there was no real reason for them to be chatting…. or was there?
Western media has paid virtually no attention to how Trump’s big picture economic policy enmeshes and bolsters his national security policy.
Quite literally, and I really want to emphasize this, Secretary Mnuchin (Treasury) and Secretary Ross (Commerce) are just as important as Secretary Mattis (Defense) and Secretary Tillerson (State).
Stop and think about that for a minute.
When President Trump went to Saudi Arabia for the Arab Security Summit the two most visibly active cabinet members were Mnuchin and Ross.  When has a Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary ever had as much importance during world security events?
Think about it.
Who was Obama’s Commerce Secretary during Iran negotiations?
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It appears the French honeymoon is over for Emmanuel Macron as various media polls show his support has dropped as low as 39%.  Interestingly, many of the media soundbites and catch phrases have a ring of familiarity too them:

…The reversal might not affect the visible international profile he has cut since taking office, but it could hurt Macron’s ability to secure his ambitious domestic agenda.
…His declining approval is striking given that Macron was being credited two months ago with giving France a boost of much-needed confidence after years of security fears and economic stagnation. Increasingly, he instead is portrayed as power-hungry and inexperienced.

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