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.

As everyone is aware, this is a very important trip to United Kingdom for several reasons. The timing is obviously pretty crucial. It gives evidence to the fact that the special relationship between the U.S. and the UK is real and enduring. As the President himself has said, “It’s a bond like no other.”

And given the fact that we’re commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this is a key time to honor our shared sacrifice and our shared service, both during World War Two, and in the many years since in all the endeavors that we’ve shared together.

The President and First Lady have a pretty packed schedule and my colleague will give you now some of the details. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. So the President and First Lady will arrive in London on June 3rd. The Queen will host them at Buckingham Palace for an arrival ceremony there, where they will have the opportunity to meet some other members of the Royal Family and Royal (inaudible).

They will also have an opportunity to visit Westminster Abbey later that day. They will plan to lay a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior.

Later that evening, the Queen will host a state dinner in honor of the President.

On June 4th, the President will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister May. They also will have an opportunity to have an interaction with American and British business leaders.

And that evening, the President will host a dinner at Winfield House, which is the ambassador’s residence in London.

On the 5th of June, the President will travel to Portsmouth to participate in a 75th commemoration to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day and to honor the service and sacrifice of so many Americans and our allies there.

Then, later that day, he will travel to Ireland. In Ireland, he’ll have an opportunity to have a bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach, the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar.

Then, the following day, on June 6th, the President will travel to Normandy where he will participate in a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery. And he also will have a bilateral meeting with President Macron.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, I just — not to wrap up before hearing your questions, but there is no better time to have a state visit to the United Kingdom than the 75th anniversary of D-Day. It’s also very special to be able to commemorate the events of D-Day on both sides of the English Channel, in Portsmouth and then in Caen, in Normandy.

We’ll be there in both instances with many of the allies who shared the sacrifices of those important operations. So the D-Day landings on all of the Normandy beaches and all the (inaudible) set off in Portsmouth.

And this, obviously, honors the special relationship but also this very deep history — a very personal history for some of the people who are in attendance in the presidential delegation. And some of our senior leadership have family members who participated in D-Day. I think that will be on all sides, actually, not just the UK and the U.S., but with some of the other allies who will join in Portsmouth and (inaudible).

So we share a deep history, and it was in the case of the of the United Kingdom that called the relationship with the United States as solid and strong. And this is what we want to demonstrate with this state visit and also the continued cooperation on global and regional security issues, which we will be discussing in the bilateral meeting and in many of the other events.

So thank you for joining us. And again, this is a preview of all of the events that will be happening next week, but we’d be happy to answer whatever questions you might have at this stage. Thank you.

Q Emily Purser from Sky News. Thanks for this for this call. Could I ask if there have been any contacts or discussions with Boris Johnson and his team, and Nigel Farage and his team, for a meeting in the President’s private time whilst in the London?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Not that we’re aware of, no.

Q Hi, this is Patsy Widakuswara with Voice of America. Thank you for taking my call. So my question is to [senior administration official]. You mentioned that the timing is crucial and gives evidence to support the special relationship. Other than to commemorate D-Day, can you explain what you mean by that, given that the Prime Minister is resigning on June 7, and the British public is so absorbed in their own political turmoil as well as Brexit?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think actually that that underscores why this timing is crucial, because the relationship isn’t just based on personalities. It’s based on the long-shared service and shared sacrifice. And that’s — you know, what 75 years of D-Day really underscores.

I mean, obviously, it was the case during World War Two that those personal relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill played an important role. But beyond that, this is really an enduring alliance.

And the dates for D-day are pretty fixed. This is the 75th commemoration, and we felt — all of us — that is extremely important. The President has said this over and over again about the unshakeable bond between the two countries.

But even in the most difficult times, where you may have political upheaval and uncertainty, that we need to stand together shoulder to shoulder. And that’s what we will be demonstrating in Portsmouth and during the meetings that we’ll have here in London.

Q Hi, this is Heather Timmons from Quartz. Can you tell us a little bit more about the size of the presidential delegation, and particularly which of his family members are going and how long they’ll be going for?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I mean, I’m not entirely sure, at this point, about how long everyone else is staying here. And the delegation was, I think, already officially issued, and an announcement was made.

But I would refer you down to the White House Press as we move forward into this. And, I mean, you’ll see, you know, for yourselves when everybody arrives here on Monday.

Q Hi, (inaudible) from BBC News. Is it possible that Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage have been invited to the ambassador’s banquet that he’s hosting at Winfield House?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don’t actually have the invitation list or the details for this. So, again, let’s wait until we have the official announcements from our press office and from the embassy about the list. I mean, these are fairly closely held at this moment.

Q Sure. But will we get the names of the invitees to the banquet?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, I’m honestly not sure about that. I’m afraid that’s not information that we have here. Again, I would just refer you back to the White House Press Office.

Q Has there been any interest in the (inaudible) meeting? Has the White House expressed any interest in meeting Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage, when they’re over in London?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I mean, (inaudible) somebody asked about this in his interview yesterday. And I think, you know, he expressed his views and opinions on both those gentlemen and many others when he was pressed in the interview. So I think we’ll just let the President’s comments about that stand.

Q Hello, this is Alexei (inaudible) with RIA Novosti, Russian News Agency. I just would like to ask whether White House knows of any invitation to Russia to take part in the festivities in Normandy. And, if so, whether President Trump plans to have any interaction with President Putin. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We’re not aware of any invitation that was extended by the French government, so I’d have to refer you to them on that. And we have not made any preparations for any kind of meeting between the presidents in Normandy — that being President Putin and President Trump, just to clarify. There will be a bilateral with President Macron, however, in Normandy.

Q Hi. Emily (inaudible) with DailyMail.com. I want to follow up on some of the schedule for the Trump family. Specifically, is Ivanka Trump going to join the President and the Prime Minister at the business leaders’ breakfast on Tuesday? And does she have any separate meetings scheduled? And also, does the First Lady have any separate events scheduled from the President?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don’t have further detail to announce here or to share here about other members of the family and what other meetings that they may or may not have. Similarly, you know, we’re not going to detail the list of individuals who are going to participate in each of the President’s meetings. We can — we’ll leave it with an overview of the meeting that the President will have and the events that he will attend and engage in.

Q So we’re not — can’t get any details on what the President’s kids will be doing during this visit?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That, I would refer you to the White House press team for further — possible further details that they may or may not be able to share about President Trump’s family.

Q Hi, this is Dmitry Kirsanov from TASS. I believe I have a question for [senior administration official]. I just wanted to ask if you could tell us a bit more about the agenda of the meeting between President Trump and President Macron. For instance, if they’re going to discuss Russia, Syria, Ukraine. Do we expect any deliverables out of that? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Just to be clear that this is obviously a bilateral meeting on the size of an important commemoration of a major anniversary, so we’ve kept the schedule for this quite light. We can imagine that there will, you know, at least touching upon some of the major issues that are on our bilateral agenda. But at this point, we don’t have any further details.

Q Hi, this is Francesca Chambers from DailyMail.com. I just wanted to ask a couple of logistical questions in addition to that question. I didn’t hear anything about a press conference with either Theresa May or with Emmanuel Macron. So if you could confirm that there is no press conference, that would be really helpful for us.

But also, if you could just talk a little bit more about the relationship between Theresa May and President Trump. You said that there was no better time to hold this meeting. But her last day will be just two days after President Trump will be there. And so I’m wondering why perhaps this wasn’t put off until there was a new prime minister.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, you can’t really put off D-Day and the commemoration. So — and again, you know, we’ve been planning this for many months. And it’s a very important event to commemorate, and that’s what we mean by that there’s no better time. And the President himself said this at his own press interview yesterday. And he also expressed his deep respect for Theresa May.

And, you know, there are many things for them to still talk about, whether it will be (inaudible) on the bilateral agenda between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

There’s going to be press — on your other question — at the various events and at their meeting. And I think, again, our White House press colleagues will be able to give you more details as we get closer to the President’s departure.

But understand that we’re very careful about the details (inaudible) for security reasons.

Q Hey, this is Ryan Kessler from ABC News. When you ran through some of the logistics, I did not hear you mention on Tuesday if the President and Theresa May are holding a joint news conference. Is that still taking place?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The answer is the same as I made before: that we will have press availability at the various events and at the meeting. And again, we’ll let our colleagues at the White House Press give you more details at we get closer.

Q Hello, this is (inaudible) WATV. We’re wondering if Meghan will be in attendance.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Who will be? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch you.

Q The Dutchess. The Dutchess, Meghan. If she will be attendance.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Oh, I’m afraid we’re not really sure at this particular stage about who will be attendance from the UK side. I mean, again, that would be better addressed, I think, to the UK government and to perhaps the Buckingham Palace press people.

Q Okay, thank you.

Q Hello, it’s Brian O’Donovan here from Irish TV station RTE. Just a couple of questions about the Irish leg of the journey. Can you confirm that the bilateral with the Taoiseach is the only public event in Ireland? Can you give us any color on what they might be likely to discuss? How long is Donald Trump likely to stay in Ireland? And is he going to try and get a round of golf while he’s at his golf resort in County Clare? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The bilateral meeting between the President and the Taoiseach is the only public event that we have to announce at this time.

Obviously, they will have a range of bilateral issues to discuss, as well as shared international interests and priorities. And I won’t speculate on whether or not the President will have an opportunity to get into a round of golf.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Just a quick flag, as well, that the President and the Taoiseach saw each other in March, so they’ll probably pick up on some of the issues they discussed then when the Taoiseach was over for the annual St. Patrick’s Day commemorations and a (inaudible) bilateral there with the President.

Q Yes, good afternoon. Thank you very much for doing this call. This is Anne Guerin with the Washington Post. Also a couple of logistical matters. Is it correct that there’s no longer a carriage procession planned in London? And can you tell us a bit about that? Is that due to protest? What is your view of the protests planned for London? Is this at all concerning? Or does the President feel insulted by it?

And then, separately, on the Normandy part, is the President not staying for the evening program? It’s not clear to me that he’s going to be there on into the evening for Macron’s large event around dinnertime. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, for the arrival ceremony, there will be an arrival ceremony at Buckingham Palace. You know, the exact details I won’t get into — get into that. But there will be an arrival ceremony at Buckingham Palace as was seen in some previous state visits of U.S. presidents to the UK.

With respect to Normandy — so, the President will be participating in the commemoration at the Normandy American Cemetery, which will take place midday. And he will have a bilateral meeting with President Macron. And that’s all that we have to announce about the President’s schedule.

If there’s a question about what else the French government might be organizing, we’d have to refer you to them.

Q Yes, but my question wasn’t so much about what the French government is organizing. I mean, other leaders are attending this evening program. Will President Trump be among them?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don’t believe he is attending the evening program.

But again, just to emphasize, the whole event is structured around the American Cemetery. And it was very important for the President to be able to commemorate the sacrifice of U.S. servicemen as well as the Allies during D-Day.

And he made it very clear, and he said this in some of this interviews, that he wanted to keep his focus less on, you know, larger events with other leaders and more on the actual servicemen themselves.

So we have kept our events very much focused on the cemetery, and then, of course, (inaudible). And there’s a lot to discuss with President Macron, to have a bilateral with him as well.

Q And on the protests? Is that worrisome to you all?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: We haven’t talked about this at all, to be frank. But it hasn’t been (inaudible) by our UK host either.

Q Hi, it’s Margaret Talev at Bloomberg. Thank you for doing the call. I’m wondering if we can touch on two issues. Huawei — what you’re expecting. Or will press — given May’s sort of timetable, how much you intend to press for a commitment or a stance from the UK?

And trade writ large — can you really get anything done, or not, until Brexit?

And I also want to go back one more time to Anne’s question, which is to say we’re all writing stories about the protesters. And I know this is probably a politically delicate question for you guys, but hoping you can answer. Is the President upset by protestors? Or does he think that’s sort of a vibrant part of democracy and whatever? He had a taste of that at the last visit with the big floating balloon. Are you — is he cool with that? Or does he have issues with that? They may be at the airport, at Shannon, for the bilat. They may be all over the city. How does he actually feel about this?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think the President can speak for himself, (inaudible) have on previous occasions. And, you know, can you can ask him as he’s leaving. But he hasn’t made any — certainly any comments that we’ve seen that show any particular concern about this issue.

In terms of the other issues you described about trade, that’s obviously going to be on the agenda. But you have to also remember that the President’s discussions with Prime Minister May come against the backdrop of a continuous set of engagements and interactions between U.S. and UK counterparts.

And so, although they will obviously discuss these issues, we’ve already been thoroughly exploring them over the course of several months now. So I don’t think that this is going to be some major earth-shattering breakthrough on any of the issues that you described. But we’ll be discussing the broader end of international, as well as our bilateral issues during the meeting. And then, obviously, setting the stage for continued discussions with whoever succeeds the Prime Minister over the next several months.

Q Have you guys advised the President on whether or not it’s appropriate to weigh in on who the next PM should be? Or will he stay out of it?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The Prime Minister — sorry, I mean, the President was already asked about those questions yesterday in his press conference, and I think he made his position clear on that, that he wasn’t going to be drawn into any speculation.

Q Hi, this is (inaudible). Can I just check, with May, will he be discussing Huawei and the issues about Huawei, especially with the UK saying it is allowing Huawei to operate? And in France, will we be sure that Trump is going to be make it to the cemetery? The last time he was here, he actually didn’t make it (inaudible) cemetery.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the last point there. But in terms of the trade issues, you know, obviously there will be a full-ranging discussion here. And we can’t, obviously, prefigure how the details — nature of the call is going to be in advance. But, you know, we have a full agenda that’s being prepared on both sides. So, you know, we’ll be able to — obviously, you’ll be able to ask questions about this after the meeting as well, in the various press opportunities.

Q And will there be more pressure piled onto the UK? We’ve heard that there’s potential threats that there won’t be any information sharing. Is that something that the President is going to use in his leverage to try and get the UK to block out Huawei?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Again, we’re getting ahead of ourselves in discussions, but we continue to have very serious and in-depth discussions with our UK colleagues on this and all these other topics as well. They’re very frank. And the UK has every ample opportunity to lay out its positions and — for a full exchange. So I don’t think we need to over-dramatize this in any way.

Q Hi, this is Sally Bronson (ph) with NBC News. You’ve mentioned a few times that the President did an interview yesterday where he discussed aspects of the trip. Could you speak further about that? Was that was UK or French press? And is that — who specifically? And is that something that is going — is it still under embargo? Is it going to be released? I was just a little confused about that, so I’m wondering if you could clarify, please.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think we’d have to turn that over to White House staff. We saw, ourselves, kind of a quick review of some of this. It was a Q&A that he gave in press. So there was a number of things. I think some of it has come out on the White House Press. Perhaps our colleagues can comment on that.

Q So there was nothing specific — no interview at least that you’re aware of — that he gave specifically to UK or French press that has not yet been released?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: (Inaudible) in the United States, I don’t believe there was anything on French press. I’d have to defer to our colleagues at the NSC and White House Press if there was anything additional that you’re referring to. But this is in a various Q&A that he’s given with other press outlets yesterday.

PRESS OFFICER: I know one of the references that my colleague mentioned earlier were comments that the President made at a press gaggle. So if there are other things coming out, you’ll see them in the press. But we don’t have anything else to announce regarding that at this time.

Q Okay, understood. There were a few references to interviews, and I just wanted to make sure we had all of that. So, thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: That’s because I’m not a (inaudible), so I incorrectly referred to interviews because I was thinking about the Q&A and the press gaggle. I guess I’ll have to get — I think these guys are going to have to kick me into shape into using the right terminology. So I apologize for any confusion there.

Q All good. Thank you very much for answering.

END TRANSCRIPT

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!

Mexico’s passive cooperation in allowing this mass incursion constitutes an emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States. Mexico has very strong immigration laws and could easily halt the illegal flow of migrants, including by returning them to their home countries. Additionally, Mexico could quickly and easily stop illegal aliens from coming through its southern border with Guatemala.

For decades, the United States has suffered the severe and dangerous consequences of illegal immigration. Sadly, Mexico has allowed this situation to go on for many years, growing only worse with the passage of time. From a safety, national security, military, economic, and humanitarian standpoint, we cannot allow this grave disaster to continue.

The current state of affairs is profoundly unfair to the American taxpayer, who bears the extraordinary financial cost imposed by large-scale illegal migration. Even worse is the terrible and preventable loss of human life. Some of the most deadly and vicious gangs on the planet operate just across our border and terrorize innocent communities.

Mexico must step up and help solve this problem. We welcome people who come to the United States legally, but we cannot allow our laws to be broken and our borders to be violated. For years, Mexico has not treated us fairly—but we are now asserting our rights as a sovereign Nation.

To address the emergency at the Southern Border, I am invoking the authorities granted to me by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Accordingly, starting on June 10, 2019, the United States will impose a 5 percent Tariff on all goods imported from Mexico.

If the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico, to be determined in our sole discretion and judgment, the Tariffs will be removed. If the crisis persists, however, the Tariffs will be raised to 10 percent on July 1, 2019.

Similarly, if Mexico still has not taken action to dramatically reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens crossing its territory into the United States, Tariffs will be increased to 15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019. Tariffs will permanently remain at the 25 percent level unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory.

Workers who come to our country through the legal admissions process, including those working on farms, ranches, and in other businesses, will be allowed easy passage.

If Mexico fails to act, Tariffs will remain at the high level, and companies located in Mexico may start moving back to the United States to make their products and goods. Companies that relocate to the United States will not pay the Tariffs or be affected in any way.

Over the years, Mexico has made massive amounts of money in its dealings with the United States, and this includes the tremendous number of jobs leaving our country.

Should Mexico choose not to cooperate on reducing unlawful migration, the sustained imposition of Tariffs will produce a massive return of jobs back to American cities and towns. Remember, our great country has been the “piggy bank” from which everybody wants only to TAKE. The difference is that now we are firmly and forcefully standing up for America’s interests.

We have confidence that Mexico can and will act swiftly to help the United States stop this long-term, dangerous, and deeply unfair problem. The United States has been very good to Mexico for many years. We are now asking that Mexico immediately do its fair share to stop the use of its territory as a conduit for illegal immigration into our country.

The cartels and coyotes are having a greater and greater impact on the Mexican side of our Southern Border. This is a dire threat that must be decisively eliminated. Billions of dollars are made, and countless lives are ruined, by these ruthless and merciless criminal organizations. Mexico must bring law and order to its side of the border.

Democrats in Congress are fully aware of this horrible situation and yet refuse to help in any way, shape, or form. This is a total dereliction of duty. The migrant crisis is a calamity that must now be solved—and can easily be solved—in Congress. Our broken asylum laws, court system, catch-and-release, visa lottery, chain migration, and many other loopholes can all be promptly corrected. When that happens, the measures being announced today can be more readily reduced or removed.

The United States is a great country that can no longer be exploited due to its foolish and irresponsible immigration laws. For the sake of our people, and for the sake of our future, these horrendous laws must be changed now.

At the same time, Mexico cannot allow hundreds of thousands of people to pour over its land and into our country—violating the sovereign territory of the United States. If Mexico does not take decisive measures, it will come at a significant price.

We therefore look forward to, and appreciate, the swift and effective actions that we hope Mexico will immediately install.

As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens. A nation without borders is not a nation at all. I will not stand by and allow our sovereignty to be eroded, our laws to be trampled, or our borders to be disrespected anymore.

[White House Link]

I can’t stop laughing when I think about BMW and the German ‘splodey heads.

German automaker BMW invested $2 billion in Mexico (plant recently finished) as part of a prior plan/strategy to utilize the NAFTA loophole and gain access to the U.S. market.  They are building cars there.  Can you imagine how much a BMW will cost with another 25% added to the price of the finished product.  LOL…

Hell, the Germans might end up being the South Mexico border patrol.

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:

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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)

Compare and contrast…

The Canadian window is short, if they don’t ratify the USMCA trade pact by the end of June, the Canadian parliament will go into legislative recess until after the general elections October 21st, 2019.  Justin and Chrystia demand to be courted…

Meanwhile in Mexico:

[…] The Mexican Senate is not currently in session, but the government said special periods would be held to pass USMCA.

Lopez Obrador said he was “optimistic” the trade deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump had pushed for, would be approved in the U.S. Congress. The Mexican president said he did not expect major difficulties to arise in its U.S. passage. (link)

It will be interesting to watch what happens.

Factually and ideologically, throughout the entire trade discussion, the Trudeau administration has put anti-Trump politics ahead of the Canadian economy.  The economic stagnation in Canada is a direct result.

On-one-hand Princess Freeland and Prince Sparkle Socks need to get their economy back on track; however, that means proceeding with ratification of the USMCA which is against their ideological interests.

On-the-other-hand Freeland and Trudeau do not want to support President Trump in any manner or form. The hatred of Trump is palpable and visible. Their hatred of Trump, and public pronouncements therein, is also part of their re-election strategy.  They want to run for re-election using the “orange-man-bad” resistance approach.

However, with the scale of investment withdrawal from Canada if they don’t ratify the USMCA Trudeau won’t have much of an economy left to manage…. And that becomes a problem for Justin/Freeland and their ideological best friend Nancy Pelosi.

After all the 2017 and 2018 shenanigans pulled by Freeland and Trudeau; and specifically after their G7 stunt last year; President Trump is essentially done with them – I doubt President Trump would even take a call from Justin from Canada.  And forget about USTR Robert Lighthizer…. he’s a thousand times more angry than Trump.

The U.S. relationship with Canada is fundamentally fractured, destroyed, unrecoverable, so long as Trudeau/Freeland are present and pushing their elitist, globalist, multinational agenda. The relationship is so bad, if a hostile nation was to threaten Canada, it would take some convincing to get President Trump to express any intent to defend.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to give Trump a win.  Trudeau and Freeland don’t want to give Trump a win.  However, if Trudeau and Freeland don’t quickly ratify the USMCA they’re screwed come October (elections). As a result, ratification in Canada will put Pelosi in a pressured pickle…. and would likely lead to the U.S. House taking up similar ratification.

Amid all the chaos, there’s an apex predator who thrives in the fray.  His world-leading economy is firing on twenty-trillion cylinders…. and he’s lining up tankers of boost.

The U.S. economy is expanding at a rate more than double all other nations; the U.S. unemployment rate is 3.6%, half all other nations; U.S. inflation is barely above one percent, and average U.S. wage rate growth is 3.4 percent and climbing.

Funny that.

President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Start time, approx 1:30pm EDT

White House Livestream – Fox Business Livestream – GST Livestream

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]

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[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.

Other than that, I think things are going very well. The economy is doing fantastically well, beyond any expectation. Unemployment numbers are just about the best in the history of our country. Employment numbers are the best. We have close to 160 million people working today, which is more than we’ve ever had before.

I’m going out to Colorado today to give the commencement address for the Air Force, which is actually very exciting for me. It’s an amazing place. These are great people. So I look forward to doing that.

Any questions?

Q What did you make of Mueller’s statement yesterday?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it was the same as the report. There wasn’t much change. It was, to me, the same as the report. And there’s no obstruction. You see what we’re saying. There’s no obstruction, there’s no collusion, there’s no nothing. It’s nothing but a witch hunt. This is a witch hunt by the media and the Democrats. They’re partners.

And it keeps going. I thought it was finished when the report was released, but it goes on. And, to me, it was the same, frankly, as the report. And he said, basically, it was the same as the report.

Q Do you still think Robert Mueller behaved honorably?

THE PRESIDENT: I think he’s totally conflicted. Because, as you know, he wanted to be the FBI Director, and I said no. As you know, I had a business dispute with him. After he left the FBI, we had a business dispute. Not a nice one. He wasn’t happy with what I did, and I don’t blame him. But I had to do it because that was the right thing to do. But I had a business dispute.

And he loves Comey. You look at the relationship with those two. So whether it’s love or deep like, but he was conflicted.

Look, Robert Mueller should’ve never been chosen because he wanted the FBI job and he didn’t get it. And the next day, he was picked as Special Counsel. So you tell somebody, “I’m sorry, you can’t have the job.” And then, after you say that, he’s going to make a ruling on you? It doesn’t work that way. Plus, we had a business dispute. Plus, his relationship with Comey was extraordinary.

Now, one other thing I’ll say: Why didn’t he investigate Strzok, and Page, and McCabe, and Comey and all the lies, and Brennan and the lies, and Clapper and the lies to Congress, and all of the things that happened to start this investigation? Why didn’t Comey come clean? Why didn’t Comey come clean and say the things that he knows are fact? Why didn’t Mueller investigate Comey, his best friend or his very good friend? And there are so many other things.

Here’s a question. This is a study of Russia. Why didn’t they invest the insurance policy? In other words, should Hillary Clinton lose, we’ve got an insurance policy. Guess what? What we’re in right now is the insurance policy.

Q Do you think he behaved dishonorably?

THE PRESIDENT: I think he is a total conflicted person. I think Mueller is a true Never Trumper. He’s somebody that dislikes Donald Trump. He’s somebody that didn’t get a job that he requested that he wanted very badly, and then he was appointed. And despite that — and despite $40 million, 18 Trump haters, including people that worked for Hillary Clinton and some of the worst human beings on Earth — they got nothing. It’s pretty amazing.

Q Do you believe that Russia helped you get elected?

THE PRESIDENT: No, Russia did not help me get elected.

Q That’s what it said (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: You know who got me elected? You know who got me elected? I got me elected. Russia didn’t help me at all. Russia, if anything, I think, helped the other side. What you ought to ask is this: Do you think the media helped Hillary Clinton get elected? She didn’t make it, but you take a look at collusion between Hillary Clinton and the media. You take a look at collusion between Hillary Clinton and Russia. She had more to do, in the campaign, with Russia than I did. I had nothing to do.

And, by the way, that’s one other thing. If you look, this was all about Russia, Russia, Russia. They don’t talk about Russia anymore because it turned out to be a hoax. It was all a hoax. And then they say, “Gee, he fought back. Isn’t that terrible? He fought back.” Of course, I fight back. Because it was a false accusation — a totally false accusation. And it’s a disgrace. And it’s a very — it’s a very sad period for this country.

And I think, in the end, I will consider what’s happening now to be one of my greatest achievements: exposing this corruption.

Q Do you think they’re going to impeach you?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t see how they can. Because they’re possibly allowed, although I can’t imagine the courts allowing it. I’ve never gone into it. I never thought that would even be possible to be using that word. To me, it’s a dirty word — the word “impeach.” It’s a dirty, filthy, disgusting word. And it had nothing to do with me.

So I don’t think so, because there was no crime. You know, it’s “high crimes and…” not “with” or “or.” It’s “high crimes and misdemeanors.” There was no high crime and there was no misdemeanor. So how do you impeach based on that?

And it came out that there was nothing to do with Russia. The whole thing is a scam. It’s one of — it’s a giant presidential harassment. And, honestly, I hope it goes down as one of my greatest achievements because I’ve exposed corruption — I’ve exposed corruption like nobody knew existed.

Q China says it’s going to restrict (inaudible) and rare earth elements if your trade strategy (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: I think we’re doing very well with China.

Come here, I want to shake your hand. Come here. You’ve treated me fairly. Thank you. Thank you.

Q Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: Wait. Wait. I want to answer a real reporter’s question. We’re going to answer a real reporter’s question, okay?

China would love to make a deal with us. We had a deal, and they broke the deal. I think, if they had to do again, they wouldn’t have done what they did. We’re taking in billions of dollars in tariffs. China is subsidizing products. So the United States taxpayer is paying for very little of it. And if you look at inflation and if you look at pricing, it’s gone up very little.

The tariffs are having a devastating effect on China. People are fleeing the country with their companies. These companies are leaving for Vietnam, other parts of Asia, and they’re even coming to the United States because then there’s no tariff.

I think we’re doing very well with China. We’ll see what happens. But I can tell you China very much wants to make a deal because the companies are leaving China to avoid the tariff. China is becoming a very weakened nation, just as Iran has become a very weakened nation. And Iran wants to make a deal also.

Q Will you see Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage in the UK?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it?

Q Will you see Boris or Mr. Farage?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I may. Nigel Farage is a friend of mine. Boris is a friend of mine. They’re two very good guys. Very interesting people. Nigel has had a big victory; he’s picked up 32 percent of the vote, starting from nothing. And I think they’re big powers over there. I think they’ve done a good job.

Q Would you support either of them?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I like them. I mean, they’re friends of mine, but I haven’t thought about supporting them. Maybe it’s not my business to support people. But I have a lot of respect for both of those men.

Q On the USS McCain, do you think it’s fair to the sailors of the John McCain that they were banned from hearing you speak simply because they (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t involved. I would not have done that. I was very angry with John McCain because he killed healthcare. I was not a big fan of John McCain in any way, shape, or form. I think John McCain had a lot to getting President Bush — a lot to do with it — to go into the Middle East, which was a catastrophe.

To me, John McCain — I wasn’t a fan. But I would never do a thing like that. Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t like him, okay? And they were well meaning, I will say. I didn’t know anything about it. I would never have done that.

Q Do you owe the sailors of the McCain an apology?
THE PRESIDENT: No, not at all. I heard sailors all went on. We had a tremendous group of sailors from various ships. It was a beautiful day. But the McCain thing, I knew nothing about.

Q What are you doing to (inaudible) foreign adversaries from interfering in 2020?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think I’ve been much tougher on elections than President Obama. President Obama was told, in 2016, just before the election in September, that Russia may try and interfere with the election. He did nothing. And the reason he did nothing is he thought Hillary was going to win.
We are doing a lot, and we’re trying to do paper ballots, as a back-up system, as much as possible. Because going to good, old-fashioned paper, in this modern age, is the best way to do it.

Q (Inaudible) talks with President Putin? What does the U.S. gain from that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we want to have a relationship with Russia and China and everybody. And I’ve said that for a long time. Getting along with Russia, getting along with China is a good thing if we can do it on fair terms or our terms.

Q (Inaudible) with Venezuela?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Venezuela — we’re just on watch. We’ll see what happens. I’d love to see them work out their problems. I understand there are a lot of talks going on. But I’m all for the people of Venezuela. You know that probably better than anyone.

Steve, go ahead.

Q In Israel, Netanyahu has been failing to form a coalition. Are you worried about that?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s too bad what happened in Israel. It looked like a total win for Netanyahu, who’s a great guy. He’s a great guy. And now they’re back in the debate stage and they’re back in the election stage. That is too bad, because they don’t need this. I mean, they’ve got enough turmoil over there. It’s a tough place. I feel very badly about that.

It looks like they’re talking, but more likely they’ll have to go back into election mode. That’s too bad.

Q The Mueller report said Russia was trying to help you and hurt Hillary Clinton. Was Mueller wrong about that?

THE PRESIDENT: I believe that Russia would rather have Hillary Clinton as President of the United States than Donald Trump. The reason is: Nobody has been tougher on Russia than me. Whether it’s our energy policy, which was not hers; whether it’s the pipelines, as you know, in Europe, going all over the place that I’ve been bitterly complaining about; whether it’s Ukraine; whether it’s a whole host of things — there has nobody ever been more tough or difficult for Russia than Donald Trump.

Now, I have to tell you this: I put sanctions on Russia at a level that nobody has seen before. Nobody even wants to write about it.

With all of that, I want to get along with Russia, and I want to get along with China, and I want to get along with Europe. I want to get along with everybody, if it’s possible. I even want to get along with Iran, and Iran wants to talk. And if they want to talk, I’m available. Thank you.

Q (Inaudible) what you hope to do?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re going to be staying at Doonbeg, in Ireland because it’s convenient and it’s a great place. But it’s convenient. We’ll be meeting with a lot of the Irish officials, and it’ll be an overnight stay. And I look forward to that.

Q What will you be discussing with the Taoiseach?

THE PRESIDENT: A lot of the things that you (inaudible).

Q Mr. President, do you think the White House should apologize for (inaudible) John McCain?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I can’t because I didn’t know anything about it. I don’t know who did it. We’ll probably be able to find out who did it. They thought they were doing me a favor because they know I am not a fan of John McCain. John McCain killed healthcare for the Republican Party and he killed healthcare for the nation. I disagree with John McCain on the way he handled the vets, because I said you got get to Choice. He was never able to get Choice. I got Choice. I disagreed with John McCain on the Middle East. He helped force Bush to make a very bad decision and go into the Middle East.

So, I wasn’t a fan of John McCain and I never will be. But certainly, I couldn’t care less whether or not there’s a boat named after his father.

Q Robert Mueller did not say “no obstruction.” He said he did not feel he could charge with you a crime because (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: There were no charges. None. If you look at — if you look at Bill Clinton, that very nice gentleman who’s been so much on my side, as you know, his special prosecutor — it was guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. So many guiltys. With me, there was no guilty. Number one, there was no crime. And number two, I fought back. And I’ll tell you —

Q (Inaudible) said he couldn’t say “no crime.”

THE PRESIDENT: Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Well, here was no collusion. There was no collusion. Read volume one. There was no collusion.

Q (Inaudible.) He said he could not say there was no crime. He could not clear you.

THE PRESIDENT: That means you’re innocent. That means you’re innocent.

Q He said he couldn’t say you were innocent.

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me — then he should’ve said “you’re guilty.”

Q But he said he couldn’t do that because that would be unfair. (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: That’s wrong. That’s wrong. No. Because he said it — he said it differently the first time. So he said, essentially, “You’re innocent.” I’m innocent of all charges. And, you know, the thing that nobody brings up: There was no crime. They’re saying “he’s obstructing something” and there was no crime. And nobody brings it up.

Also, someday, you ought to read a thing called Article 2. Read Article 2, which gives the President powers that you wouldn’t believe. But I don’t even have to rely on Article 2. There was no crime. There was no obstruction. There was no collusion. There was no nothing. And this is from a group of people that hate me. If they only found anything, they would’ve had it. And he knows that better than anybody.

Q He did not say that you were innocent. He said he did not —

THE PRESIDENT: There was no crime, there was no charge because he had no information.

Q Do you agree with Louisiana’s ban on abortion at six weeks? Is that a good law?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re going to have a statement about it. And I’m also going to have, probably today, a major statement on the border. This is a big league statement. But we are going to do something very dramatic on the border, because people are coming into our country — the Democrats will not give us laws. They will not change laws. They will not meet. They will not do anything. They want to have open borders. They want to have crime. They want to have drugs pouring into our country. They want to have human trafficking. I’m going to be making a statement probably tomorrow but maybe today.

Q Are you closing the border?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m not closing the border. I’m doing something else.

We’re going to be having a major statement on the border sometime later today or tomorrow.

Q What’s the (inaudible) of it?

THE PRESIDENT: It will be a statement having to do with the border and having to do with people illegally coming over the border. And it will be my biggest statement, so far, on the border. We have brought something to the light of the people. They see now it’s a national emergency, and most people agree. The Democrats agree too, but they won’t give us the legislation you need to fix it.

Right now, when you catch somebody, you have to release them. They won’t give us the legislation. Whether it’s chain migration or whether it’s lottery, they won’t give us any. And the asylum procedures are ridiculous. No place in the world has what we have in terms of ridiculous immigration laws.

So I will be making a major statement — I would say my biggest statement — on the border, probably today or tomorrow.

Thanks.

He knew they were always going to try the impeachment plan…

Steve Bannon is in Paris, France as the nationalist wins in the EU parliamentary election results fill the headlines.  Additionally, Bannon gives his opinion on the strategic importance of President Trump’s recent state visit to Japan.

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“Economic security is national security“… I would emphasize the strategy within the multi-layered geopolitical economic reset is all President Trump.  The restoration of a sovereign U.S. economy, and the increases in Main Street American wealth, is Donald Trump’s primary agenda item.  The President listens to advisers on a variety of economic and trade matters, but the America-First policy strategy is all his.

Excellent video of President Trump and First Lady Melania returning to the White House following a three-day state visit in Japan.   The video is even better if you play “Ride of the Valkyries” in the background: