Background Briefing in Advance of U.K. State Visit…

The White House gave some advanced information about President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s upcoming state visit to the United Kingdom; which includes trips to Ireland and France.  [Trip Date: June *3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th.]

[*Anticipate Pelosi announcing “impeachment inquiry” on Monday June 3rd]


[White House] PRESS OFFICER: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you very much for joining us for this background call on the President’s upcoming trip to the UK, Ireland, and France. This will be on background, attributable to a senior administration official.
Joining us today is [senior administration officials]. They will provide a brief trip overview at the start, and then we’ll be able to take your questions.
So at this point, I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official].
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you so much. I’ll just make a couple of brief remarks and then turn over to my colleague for some of the details.
(more…)

Huge Emergency Action – President Trump Announces Escalating Tariff Program for "All Mexican Goods" Until Illegal Central American Migration is Stopped…

Jumpin’ ju-ju bones, President Trump has just announced an emergency tariff program on all Mexican goods that begins on June 10th at 5% and continues to increase monthly until Mexico takes action to halt illegal Central American migration.
Tariff Schedule: ♦5% effective June 10th ♦10% effective July 1st ♦15% effective August 1st ♦20% effective September 1st ♦25% effective October 1st, and continuing therein until Mexico takes action to stop the flow of Central American migrants.

Details from the White House: As everyone knows, the United States of America has been invaded by hundreds of thousands of people coming through Mexico and entering our country illegally.
This sustained influx of illegal aliens has profound consequences on every aspect of our national life—overwhelming our schools, overcrowding our hospitals, draining our welfare system, and causing untold amounts of crime. Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illegal drugs and narcotics of all kinds are pouring across the Southern Border and directly into our communities. Thousands of innocent lives are taken every year as a result of this lawless chaos. It must end NOW!
(more…)

Vice-President Mike Pence Holds Joint Press Conference With Justin From Canada…

Vice-President Mike Pence traveled to Canada today as an emissary of the Trump administration to support Canadian passage of the USMCA trade agreement.
According to Reuters media reports the vice-president was focused on the importance of a strong North American economic alliance, and how a united tri-lateral agreement can form a geopolitical hedge against influence from communist China and socialist ideologies in Cuba and Venezuela. Justin from Canada expressed his perspectives over diminished women’s rights, U.S. abortion laws, the important contributions of a transgender workforce, climate change and the NBA championship playoffs…. Yes, really:


.
Meanwhile in Mexico: “The Senate, controlled by Lopez Obrador’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies, should approve the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) once it has passed through congressional committee, the president said.” (link)
(more…)

MAGAnomics – Despite Tariffs and Growing Economy, Inflation Nonexistent – Economists and Financial Class Perplexed…

Today is a very good day.  Despite the professional punditry and their doomsayer predictions of Trump tariffs driving up costs for consumers, exactly the opposite is happening.
Despite large growth in the Main Street USA economy; and despite large wage gains by U.S. blue-collar workers; inflation remains low and mysteriously detached from the Fed monetary policy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. inflation was much weaker than initially thought in the first quarter amid a sharp slowdown in domestic demand, which could cast doubts on the Federal Reserve’s view that the benign price pressures were largely because of temporary factors.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding the volatile food and energy components increased at a 1.0% rate last quarter, the government said. The so-called core PCE price index, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, was previously reported to have risen at a 1.3% pace.
The increase last quarter was the smallest in four years and pushed inflation further below the Fed’s 2% target. (read more)

They just don’t get it.  For over three years CTH has been explaining how President Trump’s maganomic policy will reverse three decades of stagnant Main Street economic growth.  Today the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) once again confirms our earlier predictions, and releases the data showing inflation is essentially nonexistent.
(more…)

President Trump Impromptu Presser Departing White House…

Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  President Trump delivers remarks to the media and holds an impromptu press conference prior to departing the White House for a trip to Colorado.  [Video and Transcript below]


.
[Transcript]  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. We just had news that Turkey released a prisoner that we were trying to get, and they released him a little while ago into home custody and will be released from home custody to the United States pretty soon. And I just want to thank President Erdoğan. We dealt with that, and he was — it was great.
They released this prisoner, hostage — whatever you want to call him. He’s at home custody, in Turkey. He’ll be released fairly soon, so that’s good news. I guess, probably, you know about that.
(more…)

May 30th – 2019 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #861

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

trump-president-3

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Thursday May 30th – Open Thread

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Two-Tiered Justice and Professional Escape Artists – Prior IG Conclusions Impede Current AG Barr…

CTH shared a prediction in September 2018 which bears repeating.  However, prior to revisiting the past let us overlay today’s events. Keep in mind, much of what is happening is downstream from predicate events that took place long before AG Bill Barr was confirmed to run the DOJ.  Actually, while not intending to defend Bill Barr, some of the recent events are beyond his control.  Here’s how:
First, if you remember when the 568 page IG report on FBI/DOJ conduct was delivered in June 2018, you might remember how the ‘executive summary and conclusions’ were disconnected from the main body of evidence within the report.  In 2018 CTH warned this “disconnect” was by design; essentially the corrupt officials were laying down a defense for any conduct, later outlined, that is connected to the body of the IG review.

When IG Horowitz announced last year he could find no evidence of actions taken as a result of political bias by FBI and DOJ officials; he also stated he could not rule out bias within their investigation.  Horowitz pointed to the lack of action by FBI Agent Peter Strzok -following the September 28th, 2016, notification of Clinton emails on Abedin laptop- as lacking reasonable explanation.  Essentially, despite suspicions, the summary conclusion was the IG could find “no evidence of intentional wrongdoing“.
The 568-pages contained a multitude of examples of FBI misconduct (media leaks etc.), but the same IG report summary said “no illegal activity was discovered.”  In the Sessions/Rosenstein led DOJ there was a disconnect between the summary/conclusions and the body of evidence.
With that in mind, how could the Bill Barr DOJ prosecute on evidence of behavior from within a report where the Rod Rosenstein DOJ conclusion was no evidence of “intentional wrongdoing”?
In short, he can’t.
(more…)