Unofficial Emissary – Michael Pillsbury Heads to China…


The dance with the dragon is a complex geopolitical relationship between two large economies. China’s view within the dynamic is shaped by their own internal ideology and outlook.  The panda mask dynamic was/is strategic and has served them well for decades; but now President Trump -while engaging a structural confrontation- has used the panda strategy against Beiing’s interests.  China is flummoxed.

Each of President Trump’s trade team members have a specific role; each member also has a specific opponent within the dance:

♦Peter Navarro is the blue-collar hawk. He focuses on the the administration’s Wall Street adversaries; and the U.S. multinationals -American companies- who have aligned their interests with Beijing.  Navarro’s focus is internal to U.S. interests.  Navarro confronts  U.S. corporations, Wall Street interests, who are working against Main Street.

♦Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin carries the economic financial weapons (represents the dollar), and he faces toward global adversaries (IMF, World Bank, European Central Bank etc.) who have also aligned their interests with Beijing and the status quo.

♦Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, coordinates the punitive actions that keep Beijing in a position of compromise.  Ross reviews prior agreements, trade legal specifics, searches through contractual obligations and ultimately controls the tariffs, if/when triggered by President Trump. Secretary Ross faces down the World Trade Organization (WTO).

♦U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is the contract writer; the primary negotiator; and he is at the center of the trade group where the details are constructed. Lighthizer writes the terms based on the objectives of President Trump.  Only POTUS approves the new agreements.

♦White House Economic Council Chairman Larry Kudlow is the explainer, the trade diplomat. The communication bridge between what is happening in the big picture and what the subsequent consequences mean.  Chairman Kudlow is to remain affable, optimistic and approachable by any interests who have concerns.  The PR guy.

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones”

Machiavelli

Navarro, Mnuchin, Ross and Lighthizer bear the economic teeth.  After all, their job is serious… they have all the confrontational challenges… they face those who want to stop President Trump’s global trade reset.  Their goal is to ‘change the status-quo‘ toward greater reciprocity for the U.S. and to stop the one-sided nature from decades of trade agreements which eroded the U.S. middle-class.  Because their objective is change, they face the adversaries head-on. Their tasks make them targets. This group are hard men.

Kudlow is the soft-one. That’s his job. Be approachable by those who don’t like confrontation.  Kudlow calms nerves and keeps the nellies‘ less nervous.

Within this dance, there is an important place where East/West negotiations require respect.  The panda mask is part of the dynamic, perhaps the cunning and positioning part, but beyond the mask actual terms need respect from both parties.

Beijing violated that central component of respect in May, 2019, when they rebuked the terms of an agreement that were 80 percent negotiated and accepted by their own emissary.  China is paying the price for that violation now.  They likely did not anticipate the severity of punishment, now they are living with consequences.

President Trump has delivered punishment but continued to praise the opponent in hopes of encouraging Chairman Xi to rethink the dragon position.

There are many U.S. hawks celebrating the pain within China; and some of those same voices are calling for continued policy that will lead to the collapse of the central Chinese communist government.  That ain’t going to happen.

If there are going to be terms, there needs to be a middle position.  President Trump has always expressed hope that terms can be reached; however, he has also expressed pragmatically that successful terms likely involve too much loss for Beijing to accept.

President Trump has done all he can to encourage U.S. multinationals to think about the impossibility of structural change in Beijing against the severity of their own experiences.  In essence President Trump has warned U.S. companies to plan for the worst, and get out.

The complaints from U.S. and allied interests about Chinese trade practices are not likely be fixed; the issue is structural.  China will not change the structure of their totalitarian controlled economic model.  They are communists.

However, that said, within this ongoing dance there needs to be panda dialogue – because the global downsides are severe….  Enter Michael Pillsbury:

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President Trump Presents Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera – 2:00pm Livestream…


Today President Trump will be recognizing a career of accomplishment by presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former New York Yankee Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera.  The anticipated start time is 2:00pm EDT.

Update: Video Added

(White House) Today, President Donald J. Trump will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera.  During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, Mariano Rivera established himself as the greatest relief pitcher of all time. Signed by the New York Yankees in 1990, Mr. Rivera would become a 13-time All-Star and 5-time World Series champion. He was the first player in the history of the sport to be elected unanimously into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Off the field, through the Mariano Rivera Foundation, he has provided education and inspiration to children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, empowering them to achieve better futures. The United States proudly honors Mariano Rivera for being a legend of the game of baseball and for his commitment to improving America’s communities.

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – CNBC Livestream Link

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Sunday Talks: Kevin McCarthy -vs- Maria Bartiromo…


House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy appears on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to discuss several ongoing political issues.

In the first two-thirds of the interview Leader McCarthy discusses Iran attacking the Saudi oil facility, and the ramifications therein. Speaker Nancy Pelosi holding back the USMCA hoping to get past the Canadian election; and the current field of 2020 democrat candidates. McCarthy holds the opinion that Elizabeth Warren will be the Democrat candidate for President.

In the last third of the interview (@11:15) McCarthy discusses the upcoming IG report on FISA abuse.  McCarthy believes: Andrew McCabe will be indicted; the IG report will identify culpability for James Comey, and the construct of a soft coup will be highlighted.

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Sunday Talks: Kellyanne Conway -vs- Bill Hemmer…


Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway appears on Fox News Sunday for an interview.  Bill Hemmer is filling in for Chris Wallace.  The recent Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia oil production is the top issue covered.

Additionally, Ms. Conway discusses John Bolton’s replacement as National Security Adviser, current WH positions on legislation to restrict firearm ownership, the ongoing negotiations with China on trade, the impeachment nonsense and the democrat 2020 race.

Goldman Sachs Analysis: Good Grief, Trump Might Be Serious About China…


This is funny in so many ways; especially for CTH readers who have a far better-than-ordinary understanding of the big picture Trump goals around China.

(1) CNBC tweeted this story last night (note the date/time). (2) It is written exclusively from the perspective of the Goldman Sachs analysts who represent the U.S. multinational position. (3) However, the article was actually written on May 12, 13, 2019.

What is funny about CNBC pushing this story, NOW, is how the claims within the CNBC story can be fact checked; and their predictions are, well, absurd (especially in hindsight).   Keep in mind this was written in May, and tweeted last night for some reason:

(Via CNBC“Goldman Sachs said the cost of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump last year against Chinese goods has fallen “entirely” on American businesses and households, with a greater impact on consumer prices than previously expected.

The bank said in a note that consumer prices are higher partly because Chinese exporters have not lowered their prices to better compete in the US market.” (link)

This Goldman Sach’s claim –made in May– can now be reviewed for accuracy by actual results on import pricing assembled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in September:

(BLS Link to Data)

As you can see, four months after the Goldman Sach’s claim, the results are entirely false.  The price of imported goods has decreased; additionally, China has further devalued their currency since May, creating an even a larger price offset.

Further in the Goldman Sach’s claims:

“Goldman also said the risk of a final round of tariffs on the roughly $300 billion of remaining imports from China has now risen to 30%.”

In their May 2019 analysis, Goldman put the odds of President Trump following through on more tariffs at 30 percent.   They really just don’t believe President Trump is committed to the China confrontation.  From their analytical perspective, no U.S. President would ever go into a full economic confrontation with China.  Remember, Goldman Sachs represents the majority opinion of the Wall Street ‘multinational’ community.

This analysis from Goldman Sachs underwrites the majority of their multinational investment planning and loans to multinational Wall Street corporations.  Laughably, we know the end result is that Trump did execute more Chinese tariffs and the Goldman Sachs analysis was/is 100 percent wrong.

And here’s the kicker:

“Our baseline expectation is that the U.S. and China will strike a deal later this year. We think this would come in the form of a gradual, staggered reduction in tariffs on a last-in, first-out schedule,” the bank said.

“There is, however, a risk of further escalation,” Goldman said. (link)

Again for emphasis, Goldman Sachs controls the investment direction for tens-of-billions for U.S. multinational corporations.   The quotes and opinions above represent their outlook, their actual belief, and what they were selling their clients in May 2019.

  • They were wrong about price impacts.
  • They were wrong about Trump following through on additional tariffs.
  • And it’s almost certain they are wrong about a pending deal before the end of this year. (It’s now mid September).

What’s the takeaway?   Well first, Goldman Sachs controls hundreds-of-billions. Goldman is the predominant voice that all of the other Wall Street multinationals’ look toward.  Goldman is the incubator for almost all of the financial experts at the Fed. Goldman is also the baseline for all of the main Wall Street pundits….

Goldman is also 100% demonstrably wrong.

If you wonder why the Federal Reserve looks like they are running around with one foot nailed to the floorboard… well, look no further than Goldman Sach’s analysis.

Second, think about what will happen when these multinationals finally realize that President Trump is serious; and there will be no U.S-China trade deal that retains any semblance of the current trade relationship (if at all).

As soon as these Wall Street knuckleheads wake up to reality (likely dragging, kicking and screaming will be involved), they will have to shift their investment planning and strategic advice to those who want loans and investment. When that happens a much larger portion of the “multinational” money starts flowing back into the United States, and is no longer “multinational”.

It’s just too darn funny not to point out…..

Former AAG Matthew Whitaker Discussing Pending IG FISA Report: “Fairly Dramatic”….


This interview with former Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was Friday evening. Mr. Whitaker gave a specific reference point for his expectation of the IG report on the circumstances surrounding the Carter Page FISA:

…”From where I sit, and from what I know, I think it is going to be fairly dramatic, what this investigation is going to show”…

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CTH Research Opinion – Carter Page was irrelevant to the FBI objective.  The FBI/DOJ goal was to get the Steele Dossier into official investigative position so they could investigate.  The dossier claims were the cornerstone to launch the Mueller probe; but the dossier was only a tool for Mueller; not the goal.  The goal for Mueller and team was to generate evidence of obstruction…. which would be used for impeachment.

Or put another way…

To get impeachment, they needed obstruction.  To get obstruction they needed an investigation.  To get the investigation they needed evidence (the dossier). To change the dossier from oppo-research to evidence they needed a target.  The target was Carter Page.

The Competence Vote…


From the first moment when he announced his intent to run for President of the United States in 2015, Donald Trump was very clear on one specific aspect to his view of why people would vote for him.  As a candidate, he repeated it often:

So the reporter said to me the other day, “But, Mr. Trump, you’re not a nice person. How can you get people to vote for you?”

I said, “I don’t know.” I said, “I think that number one, I am a nice person. I give a lot of money away to charities and other things. I think I’m actually a very nice person.”

But, I said, “This is going to be an election that’s based on competence, because people are tired of these nice people. And they’re tired of being ripped off by everybody in the world.”

President Donald J Trump continues to highlight that message today:

It’s funny, from time-to-time people ask “how is CTH consistently able to predict what Donald Trump will do about a complex issue”?  In reality the answer is simple, go back and re-read his hour long campaign kick-off speech. [See Here]

Donald Trump, now President Trump, is one of the most consistent people in history when it comes to his big picture views; and also his big picture solutions.  There are small shifts, and slight changes in the direction toward the solution, but ultimately the big picture destination is consistent.

Specifically because President Trump works on optimal solutions toward the goal destination, his objective, the non-politician takes a different approach than would be expected from a typical politician.  Ultimately this is how Trump is able to accomplish so much more in a similar amount of time; he’s not poll-testing the route.

Each big goal, each major objective, has a series of way-points.  The process for reaching those way-points is independent and entirely based on the goal itself.  Politicians look at this approach and think of it as inconsistent, because the travel is not subject to a specific map that is always followed.

Because President Trump’s search for ‘optimal travel’ is not based on a prior path – but based on each unique destination, the goal is more predictably reached.  In many ways it is just common sense.

Competence in policy is not measured by endless planning, discussion and debate… it is measured by results.  Achieving results requires action.  Start the journey and head to the way-point; reach the initial objective – evaluate, and immediately measure the next way-point; repeat until you reach the destination.

[…] So we need people— I’m a free trader. But the problem with free trade is you need really talented people to negotiate for you. If you don’t have talented people, if you don’t have great leadership, if you don’t have people that know business, not just a political hack that got the job because he made a contribution to a campaign, which is the way all jobs, just about, are gotten, free trade terrible.

Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people, but we have people that are stupid. We have people that aren’t smart. And we have people that are controlled by special interests. And it’s just not going to work.

[…]  I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower. I love China. People say, “Oh, you don’t like China?”

No, I love them. But their leaders are much smarter than our leaders, and we can’t sustain ourself with that. There’s too much— it’s like— it’s like take the New England Patriots and Tom Brady and have them play your high school football team. That’s the difference between China’s leaders and our leaders.

They are ripping us. We are rebuilding China. We’re rebuilding many countries. China, you go there now, roads, bridges, schools, you never saw anything like it. They have bridges that make the George Washington Bridge look like small potatoes. And they’re all over the place.

We have all the cards, but we don’t know how to use them.

We don’t even know that we have the cards, because our leaders don’t understand the game.

We could turn off that spigot by charging them tax until they behave properly. (Cont…)

Trump’s China Tariffs Spawn $30 Billion in New U.S. Farm Bailouts: No End in Sight


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Bradley Moss and John Yoo Debate “Honest Mistake -vs- Nefarious Intent” Within Anticipated IG Report…


National security attorney Bradley Moss and former assistant attorney general John Yoo appear on Fox News to discuss the issues around a constructed Russian conspiracy; a politically corrupt special counsel; the pending IG report on possible FISA abuse; and the ongoing predicate review by U.S. Attorney John Durham.

Trey Gowdy Warns Everyone to Lower Their Expectations…


Former congressman Trey Gowdy warns everyone to tamp down expectations from the IG report on FISA abuse. One point of focus from Horowitz’s letter today is that he *only* looked at the singular FISA issues surrounding Carter Page, nothing more.

…”Relating to a certain U.S. person.”

Therefore if Carter Page was not a victim; meaning if Carter Page was an active participant (mole) in the FBI operation – willing to be the vehicle by which the Steele Dossier could be injected into the investigation; then there will likely be no criminal conduct outlined by Horowitz.  The head of the tick-tock club was not happy with this possibility.

…”to a certain U.S. person”…