Tag Archives: Big Government

Oct 29 2025

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Informs Govt and Business Leaders No Trade Deals Possible


Posted originally on CTH on October 28, 2025 | Sundance 

For those who have followed along with the U.S-Canada trade positioning, the current status of conflict between the Trump administration and the government of Canada is not surprising.  {GO DEEP} Going all the way back to the replacement of NAFTA, with the USMCA, President Trump always said he did not favor multilateral trade deals with multiple countries; instead, he preferred bilateral free trade agreements.

Some people have construed the bilateral preference of President Trump to be the elimination of globalism in favor of nationalism in trade agreements.

While the outcome of the Trump approach indeed aligns with that theme, it is not specifically the objective of President Trump to eliminate global trade, but rather to focus on specific interests in trade that benefit the unique nature of each party involved.

As a result, the USMCA -or CUSMA as said in Canada- is not in alignment with a bilateral free trade agreement, and the conflicted differences between trade with Mexico and trade with Canada are an outcome of this dynamic.  The solution is simply to eliminate the multilateral in favor of the bilateral approach.  This is the objective of President Trump as expressed.

That said, the USMCA covers approximately 60% of U.S-Canada trade, and the remaining 40% is being debated and argued.  President Trump would prefer to just deal with 100% of the trade sectors in one free trade agreement; hence, his ambivalence until the USMCA is dissolved.

Canada, on the other hand, continues to demand that all trade conflicts be resolved without opening up the entire USMCA. Again, another conflict. Canada is like the dependent spouse in a divorce arguing for child support payments when the “children” are in their twenties.

The current status is President Trump pulling back completely from discussions with Canada, while the various provincial Premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney antagonize over the issue.

At a certain point, when the entire national economic plan of Canada is based on “Donald Trump bad”, and all political messaging internally is to proclaim they have no alternative policy positions, the Canadians might not realize it, but they are confirming complete and total dependency on the nation Donald Trump represents.

As the Canadian government continues demanding President Trump pay attention to their needs, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, informs the Carney administration, and various stakeholders, any trade agreement is no longer possible.

CANADA – The U.S. ambassador to Canada doesn’t foresee a new security and economic deal between Canada and the United States — which could see the reduction or full removal of tariffs amid an ongoing trade dispute — before the new year.

“We have stopped negotiations with Canada,” Pete Hoekstra said in a keynote address to the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Business Canada on Monday. “I don’t see any way that there will be an agreement before American Thanksgiving.”

“I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get people back to the table in a constructive and positive mode,” he added.

Hoekstra’s comments come just days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he is terminating trade talks with Canada and increasing levies on Canadian goods by 10 per cent in response to an anti-tariff ad by the government of Ontario which featured the voice of former Republican U.S. president Ronald Reagan. Ontario has since pulled the ads, effective Monday.

Government sources had told CTV News that Canadian officials were hopeful there could be movement on a steel and aluminum deal by this week’s APEC Summit in South Korea.

[…] Asked by event attendees whether he sees any way to get negotiations back on track, such as an apology for the ad, Hoekstra said: “No.”

Speaking more broadly about the state of negotiations, Hoekstra laid the blame at Canada’s feet for the soured relationship.

Hoekstra has previous expressed his distaste for what he’s called “anti-American” sentiment in Canada, and on Monday pointed to some provinces removing U.S. liquor from store shelves and Canadians being discouraged from travelling south of the border as examples.

He also said the ad amounts to foreign interference, with the U.S. Supreme Court set to start hearing arguments on the legality of Trump’s tariffs on Nov. 5, as well as some gubernatorial and state legislative elections happening next week.

“Canada burnt the bridges with America,” he said. “Donald Trump did not slam the door.”

“Donald Trump could do the only thing that a leader of a sovereign nation could do when a neighbour, another sovereign nation, decided to interject itself into American politics,” he added. “Canada slammed that door shut all by itself.” (read more)

Canada is trying to force President Trump to give them preference, in a similar way the EU demanded special trade privileges.

President Trump is trying to end the Canadian one-way benefits toward the U.S. market.

President Trump is currently touring Asia, gathering up bilateral trade deals with various countries all across the ASEAN network.

In the bigger context, Trump is cutting all the tentacles and tools of China, and isolating them from Southeast Asia, as it relates to trade with the USA.

The bigger strategy of President Trump is very clear now, reduce dependency on China by retracting all of the manufacturing dependency.

All of the surrounding nations in Asia stand to benefit from this approach through bilateral free trade agreements with the USA.  Beijing’s influence is being seriously diminished as the lead-up to President Trump sitting down with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping on Thursday.

Inside China, throughout the Chinese Communist Party, there are indications they are recognizing how successful President Trump has been at working around their influence.  Some outside observers have even started to believe the “moderates” within China feel empowered over the “hardliners” represented by Chairman Xi.  There is a lot going on behind the scenes.

This internal pressure inside Beijing’s politics works to President Trump’s favor, because it makes it even harder for Xi Jinping to be aggressive.  Additionally, with the Chinese economy being uncertain, perhaps significantly weak, Chairman Xi might even face a challenge to his power structure.  Meanwhile President Trump hops around shaking hands and making deals.

Oct 29 2025

President Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Speak to U.S. Troops On USS George Washington in Japan


Posted originally on CTH on October 28, 2025 | Sundance

President Trump visited U.S. troops stationed in Japan and gave a speech aboard the USS George Washington.  President Trump was accompanied by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and during a segment of the speech Trump invited Takaichi to deliver remarks.  This is certainly very cool.  WATCH: 

.

The full video of President Trump’s remarks to the troops is below:

.

Oct 28 2025

President Trump Attends Formal Welcome Ceremony in Japan, Hosted by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi


Posted originally on CTH on October 27, 2025 | Sundance

U.S. President Donald Trump received a grand welcome from Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, in Tokyo before the two leaders held a bilateral meeting focused on trade, defense and regional stability.

Video segments below, as presented, starting with the formal welcome ceremony.

.

At the grand Akasaka Palace, President Donald Trump met Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for a historic U.S.–Japan summit. The leaders celebrated shared achievements, discussed new trade and defense commitments, and promised a stronger alliance for peace and prosperity.

President Trump delivered very touching remarks about former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mrs Takaichi’s friend and mentor in politics.

.

The signing between the two leaders below.

.

Oct 28 2025

Canada Likely to Take Chinese EV Production as Offset to Lost U.S. Trade


Posted originally on CTH on October 27, 2025 | Sundance 

As previously outlined, Canada is so entrenched with their ‘orange man bad’ syndrome, they just cannot get out of their own way on stupid trade decisions.  {GO DEEP}

You might remember Mexico retreating from Chinese electric vehicle (EV) development following the November 2024 election of Donald Trump.

China was on the cusp of investing $5 to $7 billion in new EV manufacturing in Mexico, when President Trump announced he would impose massive tariffs to block any import of Chinese EVs made in Mexico. Trump won the election and together China and Mexico scrapped their plan.

Europe then stepped on the Chinese EV rake and began purchasing carbon credits from Chinese EV companies to avoid the “climate change” auto goals and subsequent fines to EU car companies for not hitting EV production targets. In essence, Europe is paying Chinese EV companies for carbon credits, thereby subsidizing lower priced Chinese EVs in Europe. The EU is paying China to destroy their own auto industry.

Now, it’s Canada’s turn.

As a result of President Trump asserting tariffs against imported autos, the large auto companies are abandoning plans to build or expand auto manufacturing in Canada. The Canadians are angry, and the professional political class in Canada is doing everything they can to continue ramping up opposition to Donald Trump.

With increased tariffs against Canada, and with the likely dissolution of the USMCA (CUSMA) coming in the near future, the Canadian govt of Mark Carney has been traveling the world to find alternative markets for their goods and services. The main targets for new Canadian economic and trade relations are the U.K, EU and China.

In a deal to expand the trade relationship with China, the Canadian government of Mark Carney is now proposing to drop tariffs against Chinese EVs in a deal to sell more pork and canola oil. That’s correct, in essence Canada will take the EV auto business abandoned by Mexico.

This was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s grand plan as he attended the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.

Keep in mind, as we have outlined all along during Trump’s trade reset, the USMCA is going to be abandoned in favor of two bilateral free trade agreements; one with Mexico and one with Canada.

As outlined in the Mexican decision to cancel EV investment, Mexico is aligning for a favorable trade relationship with President Trump and the USA.

The Mexican govt can see the benefits and accepts their regional dependency to the world’s largest consumer market. However, Canada is doing exactly the opposite and increasing the disconnect between Canada and the United States on key sectors of trade and commerce.

Canada may benefit in the short term from sales of pork and canola to Beijing, while simultaneously gaining Chinese investment in cobalt mining and auto development for EVs. But those EVs will never be permitted to cross the border into the USA and any effort to enhance Chinese EV sales in Canada will only disconnect them more from trade with Donald Trump and the USA.

[BACKGROUND HERE] – [Canada/Chinese EV Deal Here]

Oct 28 2025

Mohamed El-Erian Outlines Stunning Success of President Trump’s Tariff, Trade and Economic Policy Agenda


Posted originally on CTH on October 27, 2025 | Sundance

Wharton Professor and noted economist Mohamed El-Erian appeared on Fox News to discuss the jaw-dropping success President Trump is having with his global trade reset.

As noted by El-Erian no one, including El-Erian himself, expected President Trump to be able to navigate a global trade and economic reset with such stunning success.  The entire economic policy is being driven by the personal influence of President Trump as he leverages tariffs and policy incentives to the benefit of the USA economy exclusively.

The scale of Trump’s agenda is difficult to overstate, and China is now positioned to feel incredible pressure to align Beijing policy with the requests of President Trump.  “We thought there would be a massive retaliation against the US, there hasn’t been” El-Erian noted.  “We’re collecting $800 Billion of tariff revenue” and “inflation has waned,” he said.  This is a remarkable situation that few economists could accurately predict.  WATCH:

This is not a surprise to readers here as we have discussed the Trump trade agenda with clear, non-pretending eyes.  The ASEAN trip by President Trump is a masterclass in leveraging trade relationships and creating isolation for China.  The downstream consequences for Canada continue to build as the Carney administration doubles down on their entrenched and futile opposition.

If President Trump can formulate a strong, actionable and enforceable free trade agreement with Chairman Xi, it will undercut the ability of Canada to assemble cheap component goods not available in the U.S. manufacturing equation for total cost of goods.  This puts Trump in an even stronger position heading into the 2026 USMCA (CUSMA) dissolution phase.

Additionally, despite the mainstream thoughts to the contrary, putting distance between Russia and China is not averse to the interests of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, who would strategically prefer to do business with the ‘West’ over Beijing.  However, China does not want to see their Biden-created tentacle weakened in Russia.

China retains a vision of a global financial market option beyond the dollar, and Xi plays that long-term strategy game with Putin quite effectively.  It is only President Trump who holds the key to weakening that strategy, and Chairman Xi likely reminds everyone -through his emissaries- that they can wait out the Trump administration.

However, during the ASEAN conference, again we see President Trump drawing heavily on the personal factor as a part of his strategic influence operation to push distance between Southeast Asia and Beijing.  Cunning Panda can undoubtedly see that play, however, culturally they may underestimate the strength of the dynamic.  President Trump leverages the world’s biggest market with a smile.  The world’s biggest sellers want and need to keep that smile on the face of their #1 customer.

President Donald Trump is a friendly dealmaker, until he is not. Southeast Asia understands this dynamic very well.

Oct 28 2025

Trade, Trade, Trade – President Trump Delivers Remarks to Press Pool Traveling to Japan


Posted originally on CTH on October 27, 2025 | Sundance

Aboard Airforce One on route to Tokyo, Japan, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Secretary Bessent and USTR Greer held a press conference and debriefing with the traveling press pool.  The main focus of their comments were trade and economics.

If you are interested in trade discussions, this video and presser is for you.  Video Below:

Oct 9 2025

ZunZeno – How the US Govt Used Social Media to Spur Social Unrest in Cuba


Posted originally on Oct 9, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Stories are circulating that Barack Obama funneled money through the Cayman Islands to NGOs. While that cannot be entirely verified, the portion of the story regarding the Obama Administration setting up a Twitter clone for Cuba called Zunzuneo is accurate.

The US government under Obama sought ways to subliminally target the people of Cuba while bypassing the strict communist government restrictions on social media. USAID paid government contractors to create “Cuban Twitter,” which first launched in 2009. Initially, ZunZeneo (translation: “hummingbird”) used the platform to discuss neutral topics such as sports, weather, and entertainment. Once the platform expanded to hundreds of thousands of Cubans, the US government began inserting political messages aimed at inciting civil unrest.

The Associated Press even ran an article about the incident in April 2014, “US secretly built ‘Cuban Twitter’ to stir unrest.” A leaked memo from Mobile Accord Inc., the company responsible for creating the platform, emphasized the importance of hiding the US government’s involvement. “This is absolutely crucial for the long-term success of the service and to ensure the success of the Mission,” the memo said.

textingphones

Slow growth was essential for the covert operation. The social platform utilized cellphone text messaging to bypass Cuba’s internet restrictions. “Non-controversial content” on hot topic was used to build a mass subscriber base. Nearly half a million people were subscribed to the platform before the content changed with the goal of organizing “smart mobs” to “renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society,” as one USAID memo revealed.

USAID did not attempt to conceal its involvement, noting in a public statement that the agency was “proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people,” whom it said “have lived under an authoritarian regime” for 50 years.

USAID claimed it was operating legally, but covert mission to influence foreign politics must be approved by the president. Former President Obama was aware of the program but could not openly discuss his involvement. Cubans were persuaded to rebel with known legal repercussions, wholly unaware that the messaging was coming from a foreign government. “Mock ad banners will give it the appearance of a commercial enterprise,” one proposal suggested.

“The Cuban government, like other regimes committed to information control, currently lacks the capacity to effectively monitor and control such a service,” Bernheim wrote in a proposal for USAID marked “Sensitive Information.”

USAID Logo

Acting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knew of the mission. By 2011, she began openly discussing the importance of infiltrating foreign governments via the internet to lead to “revolutionary change.” Others in the Biden Administration were left in the dark. “We were told we couldn’t even be told in broad terms what was happening because ‘people will die,’” said Fulton Armstrong, who worked for both the Clinton White House and later the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The ZunZuneo management team was also unaware of US involvement.

USAID NGOs hired Cuban artists to draft messages to appeal to the people. The “Peace without Borders” concert in 2009 was the largest gathering since the visit of late Pope John Paul II. The US government used the occasion to gather intel through ZunZeno. Unassuming polls were sent out to the people, with some messaging containing subtle political components. One message asked respondents if they believed anti-government artists should join the concert. The US government gathered the cell phone numbers of the people who seemed receptive to use in future targeted attacks. This is completely illegal and a violation of data laws.

“If it is discovered that the platform is, or ever was, backed by the United States government, not only do we risk the channel being shut down by Cubacel, but we risk the credibility of the platform as a source of reliable information, education, and empowerment in the eyes of the Cuban people,” Mobile Accord noted in a memo. Shell companies were created throughout various nations, including the Cayman Islands where the company banked with N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd.

“In the implementation has the government taken steps to be discreet in non-permissive environments? Of course. That’s how you protect the practitioners and the public.” USAID spokesman Matt Herrick noted. “In hostile environments, we often take steps to protect the partners we’re working with on the ground. This is not unique to Cuba.”

Influencing foreign politics is certainly not unique to Cuba. A USAID contractor by the name of Alan Gross was sent to Cuba to provide internet access to the people. The program was launched shortly after he was arrested, as his initial goal to compromise Cuba’s internet failed. USAID is solely used to influence foreign politics under the guise of providing aid that the American people provide through taxation.

The platform vanished from the internet in 2012 when Obama was running for his second term. Social media is a favorite tool of government to influence the masses. The amount of money allocated to Cuban Twitter is unknown since USAID operated extremely discreetly, funneling money to endless NGOs to conceal its motives.

Oct 4 2025

Pentagon Lines the Pockets of Warmongers


Posted originally on Oct 3, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Oct 4 2025

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefing – 1:00pm ET Livestream


Posted originally on CTH on October 3, 2025 | Sundance 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers a press briefing today at 1:00pm ET.  Livestream Links Below.

RSBN Livestream Link – Forbes Livestream Link – AP Livestream Link

.

.

.

Oct 4 2025

Shutdown Day #3 – Trump’s Challenge


Posted originally on CTH on October 3, 2025 | Sundance

The professionally Republican wing of the GOPe want this shutdown ended just as much as the professionally Democrat wing. The UniParty cannot allow Trump/Vought this much power. Republicans cannot allow Trump this much power.

The Moonbat leftists are not the biggest problem, they never have been. They are ideologues, mostly. Insufferable, stupid, violent at times, but easy to spot.

Remember, Democrats quest for power; Republicans quest for money. Always underline this because it’s really important.

The Moonbat leftists seek power, seek control of your life, and they are open in their insufferably stupid arguments to get there. When they start to lose, they turn violent. This is their history.

That said, they are not the most dangerous.

The professional Republicans are more dangerous, because their priority is money. As a result, their approaches, goals, objectives and arguments can be purchased.

Republicans have no interests, goals or objectives, nor allegiances, that supersede their primary objective – getting money, and growing their wealth.

Democrats will come at you with a knife, a gun or a baseball bat. You can see them. The professional Republican guy standing beside you, however, is willing to take a payment to shoot you in the ear when you don’t see it coming.

This is also why it seems like Democrats stick together, and Republicans split. Democrats are chasing a common goal, a collective goal – power. Republicans are chasing a commonality, yes, but an individual goal – money, their wealth.

Donors contribute to the Democrat agenda because their interest is to benefit from power. Republicans modify their agenda to benefit donors, because their goal is money.

Democrats stay on task, power. Republicans are flexible, money.

You enter a war against Leftists with extreme danger. However, the danger is not the war in front of you, it’s the army beside you waiting to get a payment from the enemy in front of you.

Out of a group of 1,000 Democrats, 900+ will join in to defend a weakened Moonbat leftist (see Kimmel).

Out of a group of 1,000 Republicans, you will find, maybe, 5 willing to cover your back regardless of how much bribery is put in front of them.

Remember this, understand this and the reality of who presents the most danger to us is accurately framed.

Republicans do not simply snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; they sell defeat to the highest bidder!

In our lifetime we have watched this unfold.

There were Democrats with the same outlook as Republicans; they were known as “blue dog” democrats. The Blue Dogs were willing to compromise power, to sell power, in return for financial payment.

Traditional ‘Blue Dogs’ were names like Hillary and Bill Clinton; their prism was the assembly of money. However, this group faced the introduction of hardline ideological believers – the communists or Marxists represented by Barack Obama.

Obama Inc. battled Clinton Inc. to determine the future of the Democrats. The ideologues won, and the democrat Blue Dogs in their tribe, those willing to concede ideology for money, were purged from their ranks. Modern Democrats, post Obama takeover, are now pure ideologues.

“By any means necessary” is the operational objective of modern leftists. This is why government under Obama flipped the switch so openly and began weaponizing power. Purging govt agencies and replacing the staff with ideologues. Crushing opposition, by brute force and targeting.

Simultaneously, in the smaller Republican ranks, there was a small group who wanted to face down the same battle inside the Republican Party. The original Tea Party represented this group. A smaller assembly trying to put ideology, freedom and liberty at the forefront of the Republican objective.

Unlike the leftist effort, the Tea Party effort inside the Republican Party failed. Republican leadership crushed the liberty rebellion, and went back to business taking money from the ideological Marxists who now ruled the centers of power.

People, who didn’t quite understand what was taking place, stood and watched, frustrated, at the dynamic of Republicans who conceded every battle to the left.

What the abused GOP viewers didn’t understand was the core of the issue; Democrats want power, Republicans want money.

Each time the Republicans could win on a policy issue, they sold the loss to Democrats. Battered conservatives grew more frustrated and more frustrated.

Now we enter the era of MAGA, represented by billionaire Donald J. Trump, who, like Obama before him, began the fight inside the Republican Party.

The Tea Party rebellion quickly reengaged Trump and formed MAGA; the ideological fight inside the Republican party, liberty over money, was on again.

MAGA represents opposition to the leftist ideological advancement. But the Republican assembly will not concede. In a way their resistance makes sense.

If liberty and freedom become the priority, the advancement of personal wealth becomes more difficult. Simultaneously, if retention and assembly of wealth is the priority, liberty and freedom ideologues become impediments. Again, MAGA within Republicanism must be crushed when money is the priority.

This internal Republican battle has been unfolding in various reference points for almost a decade now, while the internal Democrat battle was long ago decided.

The root issue within the Republican apparatus still surrounds the greatest evil. ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’

This conflict has not yet been fully decided, yet admittedly -and thankfully- MAGA has made some significant gains. The Republican Party now has a lower income demographic and a more ideological working class base.

However, don’t be fooled. The top tier of the Republican apparatus is mostly unchanged; albeit, they are facing more entrenched ideological opposition from the awakened MAGA forces. The top tier will still sell out the base, still compromise for personal profit, and still take payment for policy.

This brings us to where we are today.

Inside the MAGA assembly, we are trying to identify which Republican leaders have shifted to the MAGA/liberty viewpoint, and which Republican leaders are playing the long game while retaining their DNA level objective – get money.

Each day on these pages, and many others, the ‘trust’ factor is raised; this is completely understandable.  We have a strong muscle memory for betrayal, and we all bear the scars to remind us.  It is fitting and proper that these conversations take place.

After all, it’s interesting to watch professional Republicans discuss how agencies like the DOJ and FBI have lost the institutional trust of the American people due to corruption, while simultaneously those same Republicans never note trust loss within the Republican Party as a result of their willful blindness to it.