Earlier today President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced a new U.S. trade deal with Europe for the duty-free export of U.S. beef.

Joining President Trump and U.S.T.R. Lighthizer is Stavros Lambrinidis, the EU ambassador to the US, and Jani Raappana, deputy head of mission for the Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much everybody. We appreciate it. A wonderful day, and a wonderful deal for a lot of people. Today, we’re signing a breakthrough agreement that will make it easier to export American beef into the European Union. We’ve been under negotiation for quite a while. And our beef farmers, we didn’t think were being treated fair, but the European Union stepped up and we appreciate it. And we have great representatives here with us today.

This is a tremendous victory for American farmers, ranchers, and, of course, European consumers because American beef is considered the best in the world.

We are delighted to be joined today by Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Censky, the European Union’s Ambassador to the United States Stavros Lambrinidis, and Representative of the Presidency of the Council of the EU Jani Raappana.

I also want to thank Senator John Hoeven, my friend, for being here, along — where’s John? John. Good job, John. Along with the President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Jennifer Houston. Thank you, Jennifer. And the President and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, Dan Halstrom. Thank you, Dan, very much. Congratulations.

The agreement we sign today will lower trade barriers in Europe and expand access for American farmers and ranchers. In year one, duty-free American beef exports to the EU will increase by 46 percent. Over seven years, they will increase by another 90 percent. In total, the duty-free exports will rise from $150 million to $420 million, an increase of over 180 percent.

My administration is standing up for our farmers and ranchers like never before. We’re protecting our farmers. We’re doing it in many ways, including with China. You may have read a little bit about China lately.

Agricultural products and exports have increased by more than $10 billion, and beef exports have increased by more than 31 percent. In another major win, we fully opened the Japanese market to U.S. beef. We also opened markets in Tunisia, Morocco, and Australia. I think you’re pretty happy about all of that, right? You’ve never seen anything like that happen before, have you? Huh?

MS. HOUSTON: We have not.

THE PRESIDENT: Not with your other Presidents, you haven’t. (Laughter.)

And we’re reducing burdensome regulations that unfairly impact agricultural producers. When our farmers became victims of unjustified retaliatory tariffs from China and other countries, we provided $28 billion, over a two-year period, in relief. They were targeted, and we took care of our farmers and ranchers. And I signed a historic farm bill, which provides our farmers with certainty and the kind of certainty that they need while supporting increased agricultural exports.

The agreement that we are about to sign keeps one more promise to the great patriots of American agriculture. These are indeed patriots. They’re always targeted first by other countries to try and take advantage of the United States. They’re the first to be targeted, but we take that target off their back.

Opening markets for our farmers is about more than just an industry, it’s about a way of life. Generations of hard work, passion, and dedication have gone into making America the largest producer of high quality beef anywhere in the world, by far. We’re proud of our farmers and ranchers. We love our farmers and ranchers. And with this announcement, we take one more step in giving them the level playing field that they have — looking — they’ve really been looking forward to this for many, many years. You folks know that. They want a level playing field. That’s all they want. And nobody can beat them. So I want to thank you all for being here.

And now I’d like to invite a very great gentleman, a friend of mine, and somebody that’s done a fantastic job for our country, Ambassador Lighthizer, to say a few words. And we’ll follow that up with some of the very high officials from the European Union. Thank you very much. Bob? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR LIGHTHIZER: Thank you, Mr. President, for being here today and for your leadership in making trade policy work better for all Americans, but particularly our farmers and ranchers.

I’m pleased to be joined today here by Mr. Jani Raappana, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Finland — the EU member state that currently holds the Presidency of the Council of EU — and Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, the Ambassador from the EU.

This agreement will nearly triple the duty-free access of American ranchers to high quality beef in Europe. Initial estimates indicate that U.S. beef will grow by over $270 million a year once the agreement is fully implemented.

With this new, exclusive country-specific quota, American ranchers have a guaranteed market share in Europe. We look forward to the European Union approving this agreement expeditiously.

AMBASSADOR RAAPPANA: Good morning. Mr. President, Ambassador Lighthizer, ladies and gentlemen, I’m honored to be one of the signatories of this EU-U.S. hormone-free beef agreement.
Thanks to this new arrangement, a very substantial amount of existing quota will be ring-fenced for the USA. This provides a solution to our longstanding dispute in the WTO.

Let me underline that the negotiations for this agreement we are conducting is good spirit and it’s a great example of how the multilateral trading system can work for settling trade disputes.

With this agreement, the EU reaffirms its commitment to a positive transatlantic trade agenda and a new phase in the EU-U.S. relationship.

The agreement will be announced to the European Parliament, and we hope to obtain soon — obtain the consent as soon as possible.

I would also like to highlight that strengthening the EU trade relations with the U.S. is a priority of the Finnish presidency.

Finally, I wish to thank all the negotiators on both sides for their efforts. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Please.

AMBASSADOR LAMBRINIDIS: Mr. President, Ambassador Lighthizer, dear friends from the American farming community, ladies and gentlemen: Today is about delivering real, positive, tangible results in the transatlantic trade relationship — the strongest, biggest relationship in the world.

Our companies, our farmers, make more money investing trading with each other than we do with anyone else in the world.

But, Mr. President, last year in the Rose Garden with President Juncker, you said you wanted more. You wanted to strengthen this relationship for the benefit of all Americans and all Europeans. And, in this spirit, we’re here today signing this agreement.

Indeed, it can more than double the hormone-free beef exports of U.S. farmers to the EU. This is a great day for American farmers. It’s a great day for European consumers.

And, of course, we’re working on so many other areas of progress. In soybeans, exports to the European Union have seen a massive increase over the past year. LNG exports have seen a significant boost, as well, in shipments, fortifying security of supply and diversity.

And we’re working on many other things: fortifying the WTO, negotiating on regulatory matters, including standards. Mr. President, I mention standards because, for us, it’s a highlight of the fact that trade is not just about money, it is also about values. It’s about making sure that high standards are used and upheld to deal with unfair competition.

And as we are dealing with fair competition here today, there are countries around the world that are not simply exporting cheap, subsidized products; they’re also trying to export cheap labor standards, weak governance, poor environmental standards.

And the agreement that we signed today shows us, as partners, we can solve problems. And as partners, together in the spirit of this partnership, we can also try to shape a world that is based on strong, open values and strong, open rules.

Thank you very much. It’s a great honor for the European Union to be here.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

AMBASSADOR LAMBRINIDIS: Oh, may I say, I asked for a hat. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: I like those hats.

AMBASSADOR LAMBRINIDIS: And they told me —

MS. HOUSTON: We’ll make that happen.

AMBASSADOR LAMBRINIDIS: They told me I don’t deserve it.

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll get you one. (Laughter.)

MS. HOUSTON: Yeah, we can make that happen.

AMBASSADOR LAMBRINIDIS: I have not earned it yet, they say. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. John, please.

SENATOR HOEVEN: Well, thank you, Mr. President. This is what our ranchers and our farmers, our producers across this great country, are after. These are the kind of agreements that really make a difference. And that’s what this is about. This is about access to markets. We produce the highest-quality beef anywhere in the world. They have great hats, but they have great cattle. They do a great job. Our ranchers across this country are absolutely the best in the world. So when we get access to markets, then they can really go to town and outcompete really anybody, anywhere.

So whether it’s the ranchers or farmers, whether it’s livestock, whether it’s crops, this is the kind of agreement we need. Again, I want to express appreciation to the President and to his whole team — to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, certainly to USTR Lighthizer, to Ambassador Doud, to the whole team. They’re working very hard on behalf of agriculture.

You know about the assistance they’re providing, but that assistance is because our farmers and our ranchers have been targeted by China and other countries. So the administration and USDA is standing up for our farmers while they’re negotiating these kinds of agreements. And I’m anxious to see what they can do with Japan.

And we’ve got to get the USMCA through the Congress. We need the House to bring it up. The Senate is ready to go. We’re ready to pass it with a big, bipartisan vote.

But each of these steps are critically important for our farmers. And again, on behalf of all of us in the Senate that work in agriculture, this is what we want — these kind of agreements — tripling what we can put into the beef that we can export to Europe under this agreement between the United States and Europe.

So again, congratulations. And on behalf of agriculture, thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Great, John. Thank you very much.

MS. HOUSTON: Yes, this is a great day for — (the President lowers the microphone) — thank you — (laughter) — for America’s cattlemen and cattlewomen. And thank you, Mr. President, to you and all of your trade team for your diligence. Because, for years, it’s been difficult for us to get access to the European Union because of some non-tariff and restricted tariff trade practices.

And we want them to be able to enjoy the high-quality beef that our American farmers and ranchers produce everywhere, that’s enjoyed by the rest of the world. And we’re so excited that our European families — and thank you to all that — are going to be able to enjoy that high-quality beef.

Thanks again, Mr. President, for your support of America’s farmers and ranchers and all to your trade team. And to you all, thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Please.

MR. KESTER: Well, that was unexpected, but — (laughter).

Thank you, Mr. President. I’ll — my name is Kevin Kester. I’m immediate past president for National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and I’m a rancher from California. I’ll just briefly say that I’m a fifth generation. I have a seventh-generation family on the ranch. And we will directly benefit from this new agreement with the European Union. And so we’re very thankful to that.

So thank you to the EU, and thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Congratulations. Very Good.

Please.

MR. HALSTROM: Thank you, Mr. President. I’m Dan Halstrom, President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. And on behalf of all of our members in agriculture throughout the United States, and our beef producers especially, we’d like to say thank you. This is an honor and a great day for us, with our European Union friends, for expanded access. And we really do appreciate everything that the President and the administration is doing on behalf of the farmers of America. So, thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.

Steve, please.

DEPUTY SECRETARY CENSKY: Thank you. Steve Censky, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. And I again wanted to express my appreciation and our appreciation on behalf of all of U.S. farmers and ranchers for the leadership of you, Mr. President, for making it a priority to stand up and fight for market access for U.S. producers. This is a great day to celebrate, and we look forward to more wins like this.

So thank you very much, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Great job, Steve.

(The agreement is signed.) (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Congratulations. And we’re working on deal where the European Union will agree to pay a 25 percent tariff on all Mercedes-Benz’s, BMWs, coming into our nation. So, we appreciate that. I’m only kidding. (Laughter.) They started to get a little bit worried. They started — thank you.

Congratulations. Best beef in the world. Thank you very much.

END 2:27 P.M. EDT

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow on trade negotiations with China, and how the EU is positioning to off-set global economic contraction.  Additionally, Kudlow discusses the aspects of the July jobs report overlooked by Wall Street pundits.

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Do not overlook or underestimate the importance of the bigger picture behind the global economic forecasts and the collective alignment against U.S. President Donald Trump.  The ‘America First’ program is against their interests. There are trillions at stake.

Asia, primarily China, and the EU rely on common alignment with the multinationals who control Wall Street and have influenced U.S. trade and economic policy for 35 years.

The June figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($4.8), Hong Kong ($2.3), Brazil ($1.3), and United Kingdom ($0.1).

Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($30.2), European Union ($15.9), Mexico ($9.2), Japan ($6.2), Germany ($5.2), Canada ($3.3), Italy ($2.6), France ($1.9), Taiwan ($1.7), India ($1.6), South Korea ($1.4), OPEC ($0.3), Saudi Arabia ($0.3), and Singapore ($0.1).  (BEA Release)

The IMF is now upgrading their forecast of U.S. economic growth; and admitting -in essence- that President Trump’s America-First agenda is relocating global wealth back to the primary host nation known as the U.S.A.   The increase in their forecast isn’t a small increase, it is essentially adding .3 percent (from 2.3% to 2.6%) or $60 billion more.

In the bigger picture this is why President Trump is the most transformative economic President in the last 75 years.   The post-WWII Marshall Plan was set up to allow Europe and Asia to place tariffs on exported American industrial products.  Those tariffs were used by the EU and Japan to rebuild their infrastructure after a devastating war.  However, there was never a built in mechanism to end the tariffs…. until President Trump came along and said: “it’s over”!

After about 20 years (+/-), say 1970 to be fair, the EU and Japan received enough money to rebuild.  But instead of ending the one-way payment system, Asia and the EU sought to keep going and build their economies larger than the U.S.  Additionally, the U.S. was carrying the cost of protecting the EU (via NATO) and Japan with our military.   The EU and Japan didn’t need to spend a dime on defense because the U.S. essentially took over that role.   But that military role, just like the tariffs, never ended.  Again, until Trump.

The U.S. economy was the host for around 50 years of parasitic wealth exfiltration, or as most would say “distribution”.  [Note I use the term *exfiltration* because it better highlights that American citizens paid higher prices for stuff, and paid higher taxes within the overall economic scheme, than was needed.]

President Trump is the first and only president who said: “enough”, and prior politicians who didn’t stop the process were “stupid” etc. etc.  Obviously, he is 100% correct.

For the past 30 years the U.S. was a sucker to keep letting the process remain in place while we lost our manufacturing base to overseas incentives.  The investment process from Wall Street (removal of Glass-Stegal) only made the process much more severe and faster.  Wall Street was now investing in companies whose best bet (higher profit return) was to pour money overseas.  This process created the “Rust Belt”, and damn near destroyed the aggregate manufacturing industry.

Fast forward to 2017 through today, and President Trump is now engaged in a massive and multidimensional effort to re-balance the entire global wealth dynamic.  By putting tariffs on foreign imports he has counterbalanced the never-ending Marshal Plan trade program and demanded renegotiation(s).  Trump’s goal is reciprocity; however, the EU and Asia, specifically China, don’t want to give up a decades-long multi-generational advantage.  This is part of the fight.

One could argue that China’s rise happened inside this period, and as a consequence they have no comprehension of an economic history without the institutional advantages.  They’ve never competed with the U.S. under any terms of equivelence or fairness; they’ve only ever known the advantages.  Combine that with the Chinese communist mindset and you get the extreme severity of their position.

So yeah, there’s going to be pain – for them; massive economic pain – as the process of reestablishing a fair trading system is rebuilt.  This dynamic is the essence of reciprocity that benefits Main Street USA.  Unfortunately, putting ‘America First’ is now also against the interests of the multinationals on Wall Street; so President Trump has to fight adverse economic opponents on multiple fronts…. and their purchased mercenary army we know as DC politicians.

No-one, ever, could take on all these interests.  Think about it…  The EU, Asia, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, China, Russia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Iran, U.S. Congress, Democrats, U.S. Senate, Wall Street, the Big Club, Lobbyists, Hollywood, Corporate Media (foreign and domestic), and the ankle-biters in Never Trump…. All of these financial interests are aligned against Main Street USA and against President Trump.

Name one individual who could take them on simultaneously and still be winning, bigly.

They say he’s one man.  They say they have him outnumbered.  Yet somehow, as unreal as it seems, he’s the one who appears to have them surrounded.

Incredible.

Lord knows we can’t spare this man.

He fights!

However, there’s an even better result in a very important data-point.  363,000 people moved from part-time to full-time employment.   The move from PT to FT employment is a key indicator of a very strong economy and workers are benefiting in benefits, wages, and total compensation which now exceeds 5.5 percent growth.

[CNBC NEWS] Economists had expected the unemployment rate to drop to 3.6%, which would have tied a 50-year low, but an influx of 370,000 new workers to the labor force brought the participation rate up to 63%, its highest since March. The total labor force of 163.4 million set a record high.

The report “illustrates that, for all the concern over weak global growth and trade policy, the domestic economy is still holding up reasonably well,” said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. (read more)

Rally Time!  Tonight President Trump travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a MAGA rally at U.S. Bank Arena.  The President is expected to deliver remarks at 7:00pm EDT with pre-rally events and speakers ongoing.

RSBN Livestream Link – Fox Livestream –  Fox10 Livestream – Global News Livestream

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Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  As President Trump departs the White House traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a MAGA rally, the high energy POTUS stops to answer questions from the press pool.  [Video Below – Transcript ADDED]

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[Transcript]  THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Mr. President, why the tariffs against China now? And are you concerned about the nosedive the Dow took today as a result?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I’m not concerned about that at all. I expected that a little bit because people don’t understand quite yet about what’s happened.

We’ve taxed China on 300 billion dollars’ worth of goods and products being sold into our country. And China eats it because they have to pay it. Because what they do is they devalue their currency and they push money out.

Our people haven’t paid, as you know. We’re also charging them 25 percent on $250 billion. So we’re taking in many billions of dollars. There’s been absolutely no inflation. And frankly, it hasn’t cost our consumer anything; it costs China.

Now, what has happened is a lot of companies are moving out of China so they can, you know, avoid. And China has had a rough twenty- — this is their worst year in 27 years, according to yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. I don’t want that.

But when my people came home, they said we’re talking. We have another meeting in early September. I said, “That’s fine.” But in the meantime, until such time as there’s a deal, we’ll be taxing them.

We’re just getting — and we’re getting very good numbers from the border. The 21,000 soldiers supplied by Mexico. And I want to thank Mexico. They’re doing a great job. The numbers are way down at the border.

Q On North Korea, sir. On North Korea, they apparently just launched their third missile in about a week. Is Kim testing you?

THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s very much under control. Very much under control.

Q President Trump, we’re talking about a full-blown trade war here. What do you say to American —

THE PRESIDENT: Well, what would you say it is?

Q No, I’m asking you —

THE PRESIDENT: Let me ask you a question.

Q What do you say to American business owners —

THE PRESIDENT: Right. Right. Right.

Q — and consumers who are going to pay the price for these tariffs, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Sure. What would you say when China, for the last 20 years, has been taking hundreds of billions of dollars out of our country? And we had a President that would never do anything — a number of Presidents that never would do anything about it. What would you say?

For many years, China has been taking money out by the hundreds of billions of dollars a year. We have rebuilt China. So now it’s time that we change things around. If they don’t want to trade with us anymore, that would be fine with me. We’d save a lot of money.

Q Mr. President, sir, do you believe that Xi is slow-walking this? And is this 10 percent tariff a bit of a hurry-up call?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t know. I think President Xi, who’s somebody I like a lot, I think he wants to make a deal. But frankly, he’s not going fast enough. He said he was going to be buying from our farmers; he didn’t do that. He said he was going to stop fentanyl from coming into our country — it’s all coming out of China; he didn’t do that. We’re losing thousands of people to fentanyl. And this was time.

And very importantly, for many years — you know this better than anybody; you’ve been covering it for a long time — for many years, China has been taking out hundreds of billions of dollars a year and rebuilding China. It’s time that we rebuild our country.

And, you know, the one thing I have to say — and you have to say this: What China is doing is they’re devaluing their currency and they’re pumping money out like they’ve never done before. And they’re paying for these tariffs; we’re not.

Q Are you concerned by reports that the Chinese army may be preparing to intervene in Hong Kong against the demonstrators? And what do you say to the accusation that the U.S. is somehow behind these protests?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, something is probably happening with Hong Kong because when you look at, you know, what’s going on, they’ve had riots for a long period of time. And I don’t know what China’s attitude is. Somebody said that at some point they’re going to want to stop that. But that’s between Hong Kong and that’s between China, because Hong Kong is a part of China. They’ll have to deal with that themselves. They don’t need advice.

Q You put a date — you put a date of September 1 on these tariffs. Are you giving Xi a chance to negotiate himself out of this?

THE PRESIDENT: No. No, no, no. It’s September 1. The reason is, it takes a long time for the ships to come over. And it’s a period of time. So I’m giving him four — like a four-week period of time before the tariffs go on.

But we’re now taking in tariffs on 10 percent on over $300 billion, and 25 percent on $250 billion. And it’s been proven that our people are not paying for those tariffs.

Q Mr. President —

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. Go ahead.

Q Thank you. About North Korea, North Korea launched two missiles again yesterday. How did you feel about that? And —

THE PRESIDENT: Short-range missiles. We never made an agreement on that. I have no problem. We’ll see what happens. But these are short-range missiles. They’re very standard.

Q And your response to Bernie Sanders who says —

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. What?

Q — that you are a pathological liar, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.

Q Thank you. Mr. President, are you concerned about reports that your DNI nominee, Congressman Ratcliffe, has embellished his record at all — that Democrats plan to oppose his nomination?

THE PRESIDENT: Congressman Ratcliffe is an outstanding man and I’m sure that he’ll be able to do very well. I think he’s just outstanding. Highly respected by everybody that knows him.

Q On Huawei, what will you do on Huawei to give relief to the companies —

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ve not changed on Huawei. We’re not allowing Huawei into our country. We’re not changed on that. We can do business for non-security things with Huawei because that’s — you know, we’ll do that. But anything having to do with national security, we’re not dealing with Huawei.

Q Mr. President, what do you think about the decision to not prosecute James Comey for leaking?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven’t actually heard that. I know there’s a lot of things going on. That’s a piece of it, I guess. But I really don’t know. I haven’t spoken to them about that.

I would, frankly, be surprised, because what James Comey did was illegal. So I would be surprised, but I don’t know anything about that.

Q Mr. President, in Cincinnati, at your rally tonight, are you prepared to tell your supporters to stop if they begin chanting something problematic?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can tell you this: I’m going to Cincinnati. The arena is a very large one. And we’ve sold it out. We could sell it out probably 10 times, from what I hear. The applications for seats, as you know — never had an empty seat — the applications are very big. I have no idea.

We have a great group of people. They love our country. They love the job we’re doing. And when they see the kind of people that want to represent us from the last two nights, that’s not what they want.

I don’t know — I can’t tell you whether or not they’re going to do that chant. If they do the chant, we’ll have to see what happens.

Q Will you stop it, sir? You think you will?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t know that you can stop people. I don’t know that you can. I mean, we’ll see what we can do. I’d prefer that they don’t, but if they do it, we’ll have to make a decision then.

Q Mr. President, do you have a message — do you have a message for them now, like before they go in?

THE PRESIDENT: I do have a message. My message is for the people I’m going to — so, we had over 100,000 applications for whatever the size of the — I think it’s a 14,000-seat arena. But we’re way over a hundred and — I think 122,000 applications for those seats.

You know what my message is? I love them. And I think they love me.

Q So your message is not “don’t do this”?

THE PRESIDENT: I actually think they love me.

Q India has rejected your offer of help on Kashmir. India is also — India has rejected your offer of help on Kashmir. India says Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

THE PRESIDENT: Have they accepted the offer or not?

Q No, they have not.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that’s up to — it’s really up to Prime Minister Modi. And I met with Prime Minister Khan; I got along great with — I think they’re a fantastic people, Khan and Modi. I mean, I would imagine they can get along very well.

But if they wanted somebody to intervene or to help them — and I spoke with Pakistan about that, and I spoke, frankly, to India about it. But that’s been going on, that battle, for a long time.

Q How do you want to resolve the Kashmir —

THE PRESIDENT: If I can — if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene.

Yeah.

Q Is the U.S. government involved in the death of Hamza bin Laden?

THE PRESIDENT: I can’t comment about that. But he was very threatening to our country. He was saying very bad things about our country. I will let you make your own comment about it.

Q Did you hear anything about it?

THE PRESIDENT: But I don’t comment. But I will say, Hamza bin Laden was very threatening to our country, and you can’t do that. As far as anything beyond that, I have no comment.

Q Mr. President, Robert Mueller said last week that Russia is interfering in U.S. elections right now. Did you raise that with Vladimir Putin yesterday?

THE PRESIDENT: You don’t really believe this. Do you believe this?

Q He said it last week. Did you raise that with President Putin yesterday?

THE PRESIDENT: We didn’t talk about that. I spoke with President Putin of Russia yesterday. They’re having massive fires in the — in their forests. They have tremendous — I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s very big.

I just offered our assistance because we’re very good at putting out forest fires, frankly. And if they should need it, I offered our assistance. We had a good talk — a short talk but a good talk. And I think he appreciated it.

So we would be able to help them. It’s — these are massive fires like I haven’t seen. That was the primary importance of the conversation. And I think they — I think they very much appreciated it.

Q Mueller said right now, he believes, Russia is interfering with the election.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I watched Mueller. I’m not sure Mueller knows what’s going on, if you want to know the truth. But all I do know is he said, “No collusion with us. No collusion,” and ultimately “no obstruction,” because it led to no obstruction by a very smart group of people, including our Attorney General. So, no collusion, no obstruction.

As far as Mueller’s performance, you would have to say it was, maybe, not so good.

Q On the Fed, sir? Sir, on the Fed? Mr. President, on the Fed, why wasn’t a quarter rate cut good enough?

THE PRESIDENT: So, our country is doing very well. We’re setting records in every way, including employment, unemployment. We have now more people working in the United States than ever before. The stock market, it will take a little hit, but it will be phenomenal because ultimately it will be much better because of what I’m doing. Somebody should have done this with China a long time ago. They decided not to do it; they made a big mistake.

But I will say this: There has never been a time in the history of our country like we have right now. The highest number of people employed, the best employment numbers for African Americans, Hispanic, women — for everybody. I mean, the best numbers we’ve ever had.

Our military is being rebuilt and it’s almost fully rebuilt. It’s going to be at a level, in a very short period of time, stronger and better than ever before with new aircraft, new missiles, new everything. Hopefully, we don’t have to use it.

Go ahead.

Q Mr. President, what did you think of the Democratic debate last night? Biden and, specifically, the charge from Congresswoman Gabbard that you’re assisting al Qaeda.

THE PRESIDENT: So, yeah, nobody knows what she meant by that. I think even you probably didn’t like that statement, John. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. If you remember, a short while ago, I defeated ISIS. We have 100 percent of the caliphate.

So, you know, you’re always going to have somebody around. We’re — right now we have captured over 10,000. We have 2,500 ISIS fighters that we want Europe to take because they were going back into Europe — into France, into Germany, into various places. So we have, right now, 2,500 ISIS that we captured. We’ve captured 100 percent of the caliphate. And we’ve done a big job on al Qaeda and everybody else.

So for her to make that statement is ridiculous, frankly. For her to make that statement is so ridiculous. And she has taken a lot of heat on it because nobody has done more against that war than I have.

So we have thousands ISIS fighters that we want Europe to take. And let’s see if they take them. And if they don’t take them, we’ll probably have to release them to Europe.

Q Will you still negotiate, sir? Sir, can you still negotiate with Kim after what he’s done this week?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it? What?

Q Can you still negotiate with Kim after what he’s done now?

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, sure. Sure. Because these are short range missiles. We never discussed that. We discussed nuclear. What we talk about is nuclear. Those are short-range missiles. Sure. And a lot of other countries test that kind of missile also.

Q Mr. President, why was the tariff 10 percent and not 25? And then on the Fed —

THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Oh, that’s funny.

Q — you said a quarter point wasn’t good enough. What would be good enough for you on the Fed, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s so interesting, because everyone says, “Gee, that’s so tough.” And now you’re saying I should have done more.

Q But why didn’t you do more?

THE PRESIDENT: Look, I did more than anybody thought with the first $250 billion. And the 10 percent is for a short-term period, and then I can always do much more or I can do less, depending on what happens with respect to a deal.

But I’m very happy the way it is right now. My people came back. They’re going to meet again in September. I said, “Look, if you meet, that’s great.” But in the meantime, we’re going to pay — they’re going to pay a tariff and it’ll be a very substantial tariff.

Now, if you remember, when I did the 25 percent, I did it in stages. And this can also be lifted, ultimately, in stages, or it can be taken off. But it can be lifted in stages. So we’re starting at 10 percent, and it can be lifted up to well beyond 25 percent. But we’re not looking to do that necessarily.

But this would be done in stages. So I put on 10 percent on 300 — it’s approximately $300 billion. We already have a 25 percent tariff on the first $250 billion. So, the 10 percent follows the $250 billion at 25 percent.

Q Mr. President, thank you. Are you considering a blockade or quarantine of Venezuela, given the amount of foreign involvement from Russia, China, and Iran?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I am.

Q You are considering it?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I am. Yes. Yes, I am.

Q I want to ask you, Mr. President, since the Mueller hearing, 116 House Democrats have said they want to launch a House inquiry. Why do you think that number continues to go up?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, it’s interesting — nobody has even mentioned this question to me in so long.

Q Right.

THE PRESIDENT: Until last night at the very end, it wasn’t even mentioned in the debates. People aren’t even thinking — it’s a hoax. I don’t know if you know that. You know it’s a hoax, right?

So, nobody has mentioned it to me.

One thing I will say that you haven’t covered: Two days ago, a highly respected judge in the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, came out with a decision on the whole Russia hoax, and he said exactly that: it’s a hoax.

You ought to read the decision. This is a decision by a judge who is highly respected — who was appointed by Bill Clinton when he was President — and he came out and he said, “It’s a hoax.” And that’s exactly what it is. This was a case brought by the Democrats against me, and nobody wants to talk about it. You know why? Because it’s fake news.

Q Mr. President, what did you tell Putin about the INF Treaty?

THE PRESIDENT: We didn’t discuss the INF. Mostly, we discussed the forest fires in Siberia and other parts of Russia. And I said, “Look, we have the greatest equipment. If we can help you, let us know.” Large sections are burning. And so I said to President Putin, “If we can help you, let me know.”

Q But we’re pulling out of the treaty tomorrow.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ll see what happens.

By the way, I will say, Russia would like to do something on a nuclear treaty. And that’s okay with me. They’d like to do something, and so would I.

Q What’s your response to Elizabeth Warren’s comment last night that —

THE PRESIDENT: Say it again.

Q What’s your response to Elizabeth Warren’s comment last night that white supremacy should be considered domestic terrorism?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think, Elizabeth — I mean, I’ve watched Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to as “Pocahontas,” with her phony try at an ancestry that she didn’t have. I’ve watched her and, I don’t know, to me, she doesn’t have credibility. It’s possible I’ll have to run against her. But everything she did was a fraud. She got into colleges, she got teaching jobs. She said she was of Indian heritage. It turned out to be a lie. So Elizabeth Warren really has a big lack of credibility.

Q Mr. President, what did you think about the statements from —

THE PRESIDENT: The which?

Q The statements between Tulsi Gabbard and Kamala Harris. Do you think Tulsi really got Kamala (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t really — no, I didn’t look. I think that Kamala did not do well last night. I think that — I think Biden did okay. He came through. He came limping through, as I say about Sleepy Joe. He limped right through it. But he got through it. He really did. I think he was okay.

I think Kamala had a bad night last night, I would say. But it’s really boiling down to four or five of them. Let’s face it. I don’t think — I don’t see anybody coming from (inaudible).

Q Do you have a message for Poland on the anniversary of Warsaw Uprising, which is today?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I have a lot of respect for Poland. And, as you know, the people of Poland like me, and I like them. And I’m going to be going to Poland fairly soon. And I know they’re building an installation that — and they’re putting in all of the money — 100 percent of the money. So they’re building something very nice for the United States to have.

Go ahead.

Q On Nancy Pelosi — I’m sorry. Just so I don’t have to yell at you here, if you don’t mind. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — I don’t know if you saw — but she described Jared Kushner as a kind of Baltimore slumlord because he owns property there. Do you think your son-in-law bears any responsibility for those conditions?

THE PRESIDENT: No. I think the responsibility is the people that have run Baltimore for so many years, obviously headed up by Elijah Cummings. They’ve run Baltimore into the ground. We’ve given billions and billions of dollars to Baltimore. The people of Baltimore appreciate what I’ve done for them by bringing this up.

It’s the number one city, proportionately, in the United States on crime. I saw a statistic where it’s worse than Honduras, right now. And I think what the people of Baltimore — I think they really appreciate what I’m doing. The money was stolen or misspent or wasted. And a lot of things happened. A lot of bad things.

But the government, for many years, has been very good to Baltimore. We have to help the people. Elijah Cummings has not helped the people. But maybe at some point we’ll get together and we’ll get it straightened out. But what happened in Baltimore is disgraceful. And it’s not only Baltimore, it’s other Democrat-run cities, and you ought to report on it sometime. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, (inaudible).

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I haven’t seen the (inaudible) at all, but I’ll take a look at them. But I will tell you, the church has loved me and I love them. You know, we’ve got about 84 percent of the vote. And the churches love Donald Trump and I love them.

TRANSCRIPT END 4:06 P.M. EDT

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin returned from two days of talks in Shanghai on Thursday.  After debriefing President Trump on the results the president announced a decision to apply a 10 percent tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese products.

This announcement would answer the question of whether the Chinese were willing to restart discussions from the previous point of contention.  Obviously they are not.

The Wall Street financial/investment class will go bananas.  U.S. based multinationals who have invested massively in Chinese manufacturing are apoplectic.  The ‘Wall Street’ -vs- Main Street battle now enters a new phase of confrontation and adversarialism.

As we have discussed, President Trump consistently implied he did not see how any deal with China is possible unless they were willing to fundamentally restructure their trade position. It has been clear -validated by the G20 outcome- that President Trump is not going to accept anything less than a full and complete structural change in the U.S. trade position with China. Lighthizer’s severe compliance and enforcement clauses, specific to each unique trade sector, are non-negotiable.

There was always only a very small chance a trade deal with China will be reached. The reforms within the original Lighthizer and Vice-Premier Liu He agreement were antithetical to Beijing. Chairman Xi Jinping and the communist politburo rejected them.

For Beijing the compliance and enforcement sections within the agreement were too severe and did not allow China to retain control over the trade terms.

The agreement was rejected.

President Trump understands Chairman Xi is looking at this as a zero-sum position. As we stated earlier, it’s was not a matter of “if” Trump would apply more tariffs; it was always a matter of “when” Trump would apply the tariffs.

Price inflation is low because manufacturing economies (EU and China) are devaluing their currency, and subsidizing their industries (China), in an effort to avoid Trump’s trade policies (tariffs). Their efforts increase the value of the dollar and we are importing deflation.  As a consequence of those factors, and the high value of the dollar, any tariffs on Chinese imports will not raise consumer prices.

The .25 point lowering of the federal reserve rate did nothing to lower the value of the dollar.  Now is the perfect time to hit China will larger tariffs.  There will be no U.S-China trade deal unless Beijing agrees to the compliance issues.

An excellent discussion between White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo about the current state of President Trump’s Main Street policy and economy.  The second half of the interview is the best part. Navarro outlines the background of the second quarter GDP result, and he hits the nail on the head. Hi Pete.

As CTH previously highlighted, the two primary drags on the Q2 release are also the most volatile: Export/Import contributions (-.65%), and Inventory contributions (-.86%) [table 2]. However, consumer spending was much stronger than anticipated (+4.3%) showing the internal strength of the U.S. labor market and the impact of wage growth which now exceeds 5.5 percent.  The rebound in Q3 is going to be very, very good.

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Note to Mr. Navarro: Enjoy the winning. Relax, you’re solid. Despite the financial punditry class consistently trying to downbeat the good news; you don’t have to carry the burden of adversarialism. You’re a good warrior; we know.  You don’t have to prove your salt. The American people can see the results, and the entire MAGAnomic team, including you, have our full support. Have some fun.

GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

By Max Ehrmann © 1927
Original text