June 30, 2020
Lou Dobbs had an interview with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tonight discussing why the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats.
Tag Archives: Q
Another Step in a Much Bigger Picture – FCC Formally Designates Hauwei and ZTE Technology as National Security Risks…
June 30, 2020
~ Why We Must Re-Elect President Trump ~
Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally designated Chinese’s Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp as posing as posing national security threats to the United States. This designation and declaration blocks U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from either company.
This is an important step toward eliminating Huawei 5G data risks within U.S. telecommunication networks. Additionally, the designation will have the forward impact of restricting U.S. allies from linking networks if they use Huawei/ZTE components.
(Via Reuters) – The U.S. telecommunications regulator voted in November 5-0 to issue the declaration and proposed requiring rural carriers to remove and replace equipment from the two Chinese companies from existing U.S. networks. “We cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit network vulnerabilities and compromise our critical communications infrastructure,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement Tuesday. (more)
This is another policy alignment from the Trump administration toward the ongoing confrontation with China. Beijing will not be happy; and this follows only a day after the Trump administration removed the ‘special trade status’ afforded to Hong Kong.
President Trump and all executive branch offices are strategically targeting China from multiple simultaneous angles. The scale of the strategy is very comprehensive.
This FCC position today aligns with the Commerce Department (Wilbur Ross) setting up new advanced chip manufacturing in the U.S. which will facilitate further decoupling from China. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) announced in May they will build an advanced chip manufacturing facility in Arizona. A manufacturing facility for advanced 5 nanometer chip manufacturing is a steep investment decision costing around $10 billion.
Economic decoupling by a thousand paper cuts.
President Trump has been methodically advancing an economic position for several years that showcases a remarkable duality.
On one hand President Trump demands that China increase purchases from the U.S. to offset the trade imbalance; this approach is Trump using a deliberate panda mask and includes praise each time Beijing responds positively. China expected this approach.
However, on the other hand President Trump has been removing the tentacles of Chinese economic influence both in the U.S. and globally. This approach deconstructs the One Belt – One Road plan of Beijing; this approach is Trump using the dragon strategy. China did not see this part coming.
The duality of the panda mask and the dragon strategy is very unique for Beijing to confront because it is the exact same strategy used by China. By expressing a public panda mask, yet concealing the underlying dragon moves, President Trump’s policy to China is a mirror of their own economic plan.
Historic Chinese geopolitical policy, vis-a-vis their totalitarian control over political sentiment (action) and diplomacy through silence, is evident in the strategic use of the space between carefully chosen words, not just the words themselves.
Each time China takes aggressive action (dragon) China projects a panda face through silence and non-response to opinion of that action;…. and the action continues.
The CCP dragon has a tendency to say one necessary thing publicly, while manipulating another necessary thing privately. The Art of War.
President Trump is the first U.S. President to understand how the CCP dragon hides behind the panda mask. He has now exposed that historic playbook to the world.
First President Trump got their attention with tariffs. Then… On one hand President Trump has engaged in very public and friendly trade negotiations with China (panda approach); yet on the other hand, long before the Wuhan virus, Trump fractured their global supply chains, influenced the movement of industrial goods to alternate nations, and incentivized an exodus of manufacturing (dragon result).
It is specifically because he understands that Panda is a mask that President Trump messages warmth toward the Chinese people, and pours vociferous praise upon Xi Jinping, while simultaneously confronting the geopolitical doctrine of the Xi regime.
In essence Trump is mirroring the behavior of China while confronting their economic duplicity.
There is no doubt in my mind that President Trump has a very well thought out long-term strategy regarding China. President Trump takes strategic messaging toward the people of china very importantly. President Trump has, very publicly, complimented the friendship he feels toward President Xi Jinping; and praises Chairman Xi for his character, strength and purposeful leadership.
To build upon that projected and strategic message – President Trump seeded the background by appointing Ambassador Terry Branstad, a 30-year personal friend of President Xi Jinping.
To enhance and amplify the message – and broadcast cultural respect – President Trump used Mar-a-Lago as the venue for their first visit, not the White House. And President Trump’s beautiful granddaughter, Arabella, sweetly serenaded the Chinese First Familytwice in Mandarin Chinese song showing the utmost respect for the guests and later for the hosts.
All of this activity mirrors the duplicity of China. From the November 2017 tour of Asia to the January 2020 China phase-1 trade deal, President Trump has been positioning, for an economic decoupling and a complete realignment of global trade and manufacturing.
Remarkably, at the same time… inch by inch… President Trump has been able to keep the international financial markets stable while he has moved to completely reset global trade.
For those who follow carefully, you can see President Trump advancing public positions against China at strategic times that keeps the multinational corporations on the U.S. stock exchange from major losses. Forward policy, then pause. Forward policy, then pause. Within this process the financial markets pull back, then regain… pull back, then regain.
This very strategic approach keeps the overall wealth (value) within the U.S. market, while the decoupling is fundamentally taking place. Smart U.S. corporations have made, and/or are making, shifts in their forward business decisions to offset the inevitable end.
It is quite remarkable to stand back and watch how the Trump administration is accomplishing the reversal of decades of exfiltration of wealth, and returning jobs and manufacturing back to the U.S through the America First agenda. No other person could have ever accomplished this.
Unfortunately, this success also explains the opposition. Those who have aligned their personal affluence by selling the wealth of the U.S. are fighting like hell to stop President Trump from Making America Great Again.
Kayleigh McEnany White House Press Briefing – 3:30pm ET Livestream…
June 30, 2020
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is holding a press briefing from the Brady room. Anticipated start time 3:30pm ET.
UPDATE: Video Added
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[Transcript] – MS. MCENANY: Hello, everyone. The front page of the New York Times is not the venue for discussing classified information. The White House podium is not the venue for discussing classified information. We are here today, having this discussion, because of an irresponsible, anonymous leak to the New York Times. There is no good scenario as a result of this New York Times report.
Who’s going to want to cooperate with the United States intelligence community, who’s going to want to be a source or an asset, if they know that their identity could be disclosed? Which allies will want to share information with us if they know that some rogue intelligence officer can go splash that information on the front page of a major U.S. newspaper?
Specifically, there are two bad scenarios that emerge from this report: Number one, this report makes it more difficult to come to a consensus on this matter, to verify intelligence. And number two, this level of controversy and discord plays directly into the hands of Russia and, unfortunately, serves their interests.
Since before President Trump assumed office, damaging and oftentimes erroneous leaks seeking to undermine or delegitimize the duly elected president have been published. According to the DOJ, classified leaks surged in this administration. There were, under President Obama, just 39, on average, criminal leak referrals. In this administration, we’ve seen 100 criminal leak referrals to the DOJ in 2017, 88 in 2018, and 104 on average per year.
We have seen targeted leaks of classified information against this President, and it is irresponsible: phone calls with foreign leaders, meetings with government officials, and now reports of alleged intelligence. Make no mistake: This damages our ability, as a nation, to collect intelligence.
As the National Security Council noted just yesterday, “To those government officials who betray the trust of the people of the United States by leaking classified information, your actions endanger our national security.”
The ODNI said, “The selective leaking of any classified information disrupts the vital interagency work to collect, assess, and mitigate threats, and places our forces at risk. It is also, simply put, a crime.”
And finally, the CIA said this: that “Leaks compromise and disrupt the critical interagency work to collect, assess, and ascribe culpability.”
To the anonymous sources who leak classified information, you should know this: You may seek to undermine our President, but in fact, you undermine our country’s safety and our country’s security.
And with that, I’ll take questions.
Kristin.
Q Thank you, Kayleigh. When did White House officials first learn that this intelligence about Russian bounties existed?
MS. MCENANY: I will say this: The President was never briefed on this, this intelligence still has not been verified, and there is no consensus among the intelligence community.
Q Does the President wish that he had been briefed sooner? I mean, today, Joe Biden called it a “dereliction of duty.”
MS. MCENANY: This is a piece of intelligence information that had no consensus, has not been verified. Still, to this day, has not been verified. And there are several intelligence agencies on the record noting that. You have the Department of Defense saying that there has — they have no corroborating evidence to validate [sic] — validate the recent allegations. The NSC: “…Allegations in recent press articles have not been verified or substantiated by the intelligence community…” And the ODNI: “We are still investigating the alleged intelligence referenced in recent media reportings.”
But that didn’t stop the New York Times from putting it on the very first page of their newspaper and stopping us from getting to an ultimate conclusion and an ultimate place of having a consensus on the alleged intelligence.
Darlene.
Q You said that —
Q Just one more question. If this intelligence does turn out to be true, is the President prepared to take some serious action against Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin?
MS. MCENANY: The President has always taken tough, unadulterated action against Russia. We saw that there’s no diplomatic presence on the West Coast of our country, of Russia, because the President closed the consulates. We saw he expelled 60 Russian intelligence officers; sanctioned hundreds of targets; withdrew from the INF Treaty, the Open Skies Treaty; tried to halt Nord Stream — still trying to do that; impose visa sanctions, and many other actions.
So make no mistake: This President is prepared to act and will always act in protecting our American troops. We saw in Syria, in the strikes in 2018, that dozens of Russian mercenaries were killed. He will always act, prot- — to protect American troops. That is indeed his track record.
Darlene.
Q There’s a briefing — an intel briefing on the President’s schedule today. Will this matter be part of his briefing this afternoon?
MS. MCENANY: The President has been briefed on what is unfortunately in the public domain because of the New York Times and the irresponsible leak. Yes, he has been briefed, but that does not change the fact that there is no consensus on this intelligence that still has yet to be verified.
Q I have one more question.
MS. MCENANY: Yeah. Darlene?
Q On another subject: Republican allies of the President, like Kevin McCarthy and Lamar Alexander, have said that it would be great if the President would wear a mask in public, sometimes, to set an example. How much weight do words from McCarthy and Lamar Alexander carry with the President?
MS. MCENANY: The President has said he has no problem with masks; that he encourages people to make whatever decision is best for their safety and to follow what their local jurisdictions say. CDC guidelines are still recommended, but not required. And the President is the most tested man in America. It’s his decision whether to wear a mask.
Justin.
Q But to set an example?
MS. MCENANY: Justin.
Q I wanted to look back on you saying that the President had never been briefed. There’s, I think, some dispute over whether, in February, his PDB included this intelligence information. And so I’m wondering if you can say whether or not, you know, he may not have read the briefing book that he was presented with, but was he at some point at least given access to this information.
MS. MCENANY: So the PDB is a top-secret document that is widely disseminated among government. I will never sit here and confirm or deny what is in a top-secret document. So I’ll leave it at that.
One thing I will say that is routine is when there is intelligence — and I was speaking with some folks over at NSC about this earlier and some other folks around the White House — when we get intelligence — verified or unverified, deemed credible or not credible, deemed consensus or no consensus — if that information in any way impinges upon the safety of our troops, that information goes to our troops on the ground and to our allies so they can take the appropriate measures.
What is briefed up to the President — and in this case, it was not the case; was never briefed to the President of the United States because there was no consensus — what is briefed to the President is when there’s a strategic decision to be made. So in this case, if there was a strategic decision to be made vis-à-vis Russia, those are the kind of things that are briefed to the President when they’re deemed credible. But in this case, it was not briefed to the President, there is no consensus, it was not credible.
But make no mistake: This President will always protect American troops.
Q I mean — sorry, just — just to follow on that. I think there’s two points. One, I would say that press secretaries in the past have disclosed, in certain instances, what was in the PDB.
But secondly, I mean, this is a relevant issue because — and I think critics have seized on this and said, “Well, if the President isn’t reading his PDB, he might not know that there are these policy decisions to be made,” right? If a President was presented with this information, it’s unverified, he could be alarmed; change his posture towards Russia; conceivably ask intelligence officials to work harder to determine whether or not this was true; make, you know, a series of judgments.
And so, I guess more broadly, you know, I would re-ask the question of whether it was in his material, but asking maybe to defend why the President isn’t necessarily reading his PDB when there are these types of issues that could arise.
MS. MCENANY: The President does read, and he also consumes intelligence —
Q So, then it wasn’t in his PDB?
MS. MCENANY: — verbally. This President, I’ll tell you, is the most informed person on planet Earth when it comes to the threats that we face. You have Ambassador O’Brien, who sees him in person twice a day, who sometimes takes the upwards of half a dozen calls with this President. He’s constantly being informed and briefed on intelligence matters.
But I’m not going to allow the New York Times to dictate when we give top-secret information and don’t give top-secret information. That’s —
Q But let me just square the —
MS. MCENANY: — an untenable proposition.
Q Just to square the circle there, then —
MS. MCENANY: Yes, Emerald.
Q Thanks, Kayleigh. Does the White House have any comment on Bruce Ohr testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Hill today?
MS. MCENANY: So, no comment on that specifically. But what I would say more generally is that what Bruce Ohr and others in the Obama-era government have to answer for is quite substantial: When you had a dossier full of lies weaponizing against this President — Bruce Ohr’s wife, of course, being involved in the creation of that dossier, which was funded by the Democrat National Committee and in coordination with the Hillary Clinton campaign, and was used to spy on the Trump campaign, to be the basis for two FISA warrants, to launch a three-year investigation into Russia collusion that ultimately ended in an exoneration of this President and an immense waste of taxpayer dollars — Mr. Ohr and many others have a whole lot of questions to answer for.
Q So why wasn’t it — why was it behind closed doors? Why wasn’t it televised, given the public interest in these players in the Russia investigation?
MS. MCENANY: That would be a question for Congress, but I think the public deserves to know Mr. Ohr’s answers on those matters.
Q And then one more, if I may. You opened about leakers. Democrat lawmakers are calling for a briefing from intelligence officials. They aren’t satisfied with the White House personnel today. Is there a concern to brief Democrat lawmakers, especially Adam Schiff, given the leaks out of his committee?
MS. MCENANY: Look, I mean, I think that Democrats should come forward in good faith. And if anyone has politicized intelligence — we’ve had the New York Times acting entirely irresponsibly, and you have the Democrat Party politicizing this information, which I think is absolutely disgraceful.
Alayna.
Q Hi. Yes. Thank you, Kayleigh. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should, quote, “absolutely not,” unquote, be allowed back into the G7. Does President Trump agree with Mitch McConnell?
MS. MCENANY: Look, I haven’t spoken to him on that matter. The President believes that we have to have diplomatic relationship — relations with the top economies of the world. But there’s been no one that’s been tougher on Russia than this President. I went through several of those actions.
And also, I would note that when it comes to acting on viable, actionable, credible intelligence, there has been no one who has acted more forcefully than this President. He has a track record of that. He has made protecting our American troops overseas his highest and strongest priority.
As you know, Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of 600 Americans and thousands maimed from, quote, “explosively formed penetrators, other improvised explosive devices, improvised rocket-assisted munitions, rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms, snipers, and other attacks in Iraq.” This is what Soleimani did to our American troops.
You had President Bush, who declined to strike Soleimani, who was, quote “in the crosshairs,” according to the New York Times. You had Obama-Biden who, quote, “never made an effort to strike Soleimani.”
But you had this President who, when he had actionable intelligence to protect American troops, he did it. He took that option. He was criticized by Democrats. “Democrats condemn Trump’s strike on Soleimani,” as your publication, Axios, had in a headline. NBC said, “Democrats demand answers on Soleimani killing.” Politico, “Top Democrats blast Trump’s ‘false’ justification for Soleimani killing.” And the Atlantic asked, “Why Kill Soleimani Now?”
We removed Soleimani from the battlefield — President Trump did — to protect our American troops, based on credible intelligence. He did the same with al-Baghdadi, who was responsible for 300 public beheadings, who killed thousands of captured prisoners of war. When this President had actionable intelligence, he took action, criticized by Democrats for it, but that’s what this President does: He acts in defense of our American troops.
David.
Q You said it was “targeted leaking” in the New York Times. Who’s doing the targeting and why are they doing it?
MS. MCENANY: It’s a — it’s a great question. But these are rogue intelligence officers who are imperiling our troops’ lives. We will not be able to get — very likely not be able to get a consensus on this intelligence because of what was leaked to the New York Times. And you have both the NSC, ODNI, and CIA all noting what damage this leaks does, not just to the safety of our troops, which is paramount, but to the ability of the United States to aggregate information from our allies and have assets and have — get this valuable information. So who’s doing it? It’s —
Q Are you saying members of the IC are going after Trump? Is that what you’re saying?
MS. MCENANY: It very possibly could be. And if that’s the case, it is absolutely despicable.
Q Kayleigh —
MS. MCENANY: Yes.
Q On that note, is the Trump administration doing anything or taking any action, like an audit of the IC? Or what steps are you planning on taking to try to find the source of the leaks?
MS. MCENANY: Well, make no mistake: The DOJ has done several criminal leak referrals — 120 in 2017, 88 in 2018, 104 on average, per year, under President Trump. So we do take those steps.
And we do have a President who, ultimately, when it comes down to the safety of our troops, he doesn’t take impulsive action, he takes deliberate action. And we saw that in the killing of Soleimani and the killing of al-Baghdadi and the protecting of our troops. And at the same time, when you had Iran, who shot down a drone, he chose not to strike back in that instance. He chose to protect civilians, protect our troops. It was the measured response; it was a proportionate response.
And ultimately, the ultimate way to protect American troops is to not get into needless foreign wars. This President is on record for decades and decades and decades opposing — opposing foreign wars. And Iraq is a great example, a 20 — nearly two-decade war. You have this President who, when Washington was unanimous in saying, “We’re going into Iraq,” this President said, “No, that’s not the right decision.”
He’s wound down our troop presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. And he’s ultimately protected American troops and kept this country safe. And this President has a very strong foreign policy record to be incredibly proud of.
Thank you.
White House Livestream Link – Fox Business Livestream – PBS Livestream Link
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Secretary Wilbur Ross Begins Revocation of Hong Kong Special Trade Status…
June 29, 2020
In a statement earlier today, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced the U.S. is revoking the special trade status of Hong Kong in response to escalating encroachment by China in violation of the prior agreement for autonomy.
It is a challenging status to modify because the administration does not want to reduce the ability of Hong Kong to operate as an autonomous economic region. However, at the same time Beijing is taking control of all systems within Hong Kong and as such policies must be adjusted. It would be an exercise in futility to expect China to retreat.
WILBUR ROSS – “With the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of new security measures on Hong Kong, the risk that sensitive U.S. technology will be diverted to the People’s Liberation Army or Ministry of State Security has increased, all while undermining the territory’s autonomy. Those are risks the U.S. refuses to accept and have resulted in the revocation of Hong Kong’s special status.”
“Commerce Department regulations affording preferential treatment to Hong Kong over China, including the availability of export license exceptions, are suspended. Further actions to eliminate differential treatment are also being evaluated. We urge Beijing to immediately reverse course and fulfill the promises it has made to the people of Hong Kong and the world.”
The biggest issue surrounds Hong Kong’s exemptions to tariffs the administration has placed against China. The statement by Wilbur Ross does not address that key aspect, yet.
As accurately noted: “The end of Hong Kong’s special status became a real possibility once the security law came into play, since its implementation will likely render “one country, two systems” nothing more than a slogan, and the U.S. had already announced it no longer considers the city autonomous from Beijing. The move will likely place Hong Kong’s role as a leading global financial hub in jeopardy. ”
Moving forward, as we previously have discussed, there primary entity who should/could assemble a coalition to defend Hong Kong’s interests would be the United Kingdom. However, as with most geopolitical issues involving European politics, the British government prefers to abdicate their role and hope the U.S. will fill the gap.
Trump administration detractors will likely use the Hong Kong issue to criticize President Trump for not doing enough to curb Beijing’s aggression, while simultaneously ignoring their own 3 decades of inaction -and support for China- which created the crisis.
President Trump is the first U.S. President to stand up to the aggressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while most U.S. politicians and their Wall Street multinational allies have done everything possible to support the same communist economic system they now claim has become dangerous for the world. There is a lot of insufferable hypocrisy in/around all things China.
Bottom line – It is better to accept the situation as it exists, rather than pretend it could be something else. With that in mind, the move by Secretary Ross is a step in the right direction. It’s time to accept Hong Kong as part of China, modify all policies toward that end, accept Beijing is going to take full control, and offer support for the people of Hong Kong as they deal with the reality of their new communist rulers.
Freedom is a tenuous proposition; and we seem to have our hands full in the U.S. trying to retain our own.
Supreme Court Rules Law Creating Director of CFPB Unconstitutional – Severs Removal Clause, Retains Agency…
June 29, 2020
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) was originally created by congress (Elizabeth Warren lead) as a quasi-constitutional watchdog agency to reach into the banking and financial system, under the guise of oversight, and extract money by fining entities for CFPB defined regulatory and/or compliance violations.
Essentially, the CFPB is a congressionally authorized far-left extortion scheme in the banking sector. The CFPB levies fines; the fines generate income; however, unlike traditional fines that go to the U.S. treasury, the CFBP fines are then redistributed to left-wing organizations to help fund their political activism.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren as an outcome of the Dodd-Frank legislation. Within the CFPB Warren tried to set up the head of the agency, the Director, in a manner that that he/she would operate without oversight. Unfortunately, her dictatorial-fiat-design collapsed when challenged in court. Backstory #1– Backstory #2
A federal court found the CFPB Director position held too much power and deemed it unconstitutional. The court decision noted that giving the President power to fire the Director would fix the constitutional problem. This issue was argued extensively after President Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney as interim Director. Elizabeth Warren declaring the CFPB Director could not be fired by the executive. The legal battle worked its way to the Supreme Court.
♦ Today the Supreme Court ruled (full pdf here) the structure of the CFPB Director position is unconstitutional and the President can fire the head of the agency. However, SCOTUS kept the CFPB agency in place by severing the part of the law that created the agency head from the rest of the law.
The CFPB remains as a quasi-constitutional agency; the CFPB remains an extortion racket to target any organization within the banking and finance sector; however, the president can fire and appoint the Director of the CFPB.
The decision could have significant implications for the future of the similarly structured Federal Housing Finance Agency, the overseer of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. like the head of the CFPB, the FHFA director is appointed to a five-year term and can only be removed for cause. ~ Politico
BACKSTORY: When Senator Elizabeth Warren and crew set up the Director of the CFPB, in the aftermath of the Dodd-Frank Act, they made it so that the appointed director can only be fired for cause by the President.
This design was so the Director could operate outside the control of congress and outside the control of the White House. In essence the CFPB director position was created to work above the reach of any oversight; almost like a tenured position no-one could ever remove.
The position was intentionally put together so that he/she would be untouchable, and the ideologue occupying the position would work on the goals of the CFPB without any oversight.
Elizabeth Warren herself wanted to be the appointed director; however, the reality of her never passing senate confirmation made her drop out.
The CFPB Director has the power to regulate pensions, retirement investment, mortgages, bank loans, credit cards and essentially every aspect of all consumer financial transactions.
However, in response to legal challenges by Credit Unions and Mortgage providers, in October 2016 the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that placing so much power in a single Czar or Commissioner was unconstitutional:
[…] The five-year-old agency violates the Constitution’s separation of powers because too much power is in the hands of its director, found the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Giving the president the power to get rid of the CFPB’s director and to oversee the agency would fix the situation, the court said. (more)
After the November 8, 2016, election (during the lame-duck Obama period), the CFPB sought an en banc review of the decision by the circuit court panel. However, in March 2017 the Trump administration reversed the government’s position.
Today the Supreme Court finally settled the issue.
Kayleigh McEnany White House Press Briefing – 1:30pm ET Livestream
June 29, 2020
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany holds a press briefing. Anticipated start time 1:30pm ET.
White House Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream
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Sunday Talks – Bartiromo Asks Navarro: “Why is President Trump Losing So Badly”…
June 28, 2020
White House Trade and Manufacturing Policy Advisor Peter Navarro appears with Maria Bartriomo on Sunday Morning Futures. Within the interview Ms. Bartiromo outlines all of the far-left policies, actions, riots, mayhem and very visible outcomes that are toxic to the general population…. and then asks Peter Navarro: “why would voters rather see their lives destroyed that re-elect President Trump. Why is he losing so badly?”
Larry Elder Talking about Donald trump!
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President Trump Remarks Leading Workforce Advisory Board Meeting – Video and Transcript…
June 26, 2020
Earlier today President Trump signed an Executive Order requiring Federal agencies to focus hiring on the skills job seekers possess, rather than focusing on whether they earned a college degree. The order requires Federal agencies to revise and update outdated Federal job qualification standards and candidate assessments, improving the quality and competency of the civil service.
The order implements best practices already adopted by private sector leaders to promote equity and inclusion. As a result of this reform, talented individuals with apprenticeships, technical training, and apt backgrounds will have greater opportunity to pursue careers in the Federal civil service. [Video and Transcript of Workforce Meeting]
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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Nice to see you. Thank you very much. Busy time.
MS. TRUMP: Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: We’re making a lot of progress with the whole situation that came in from a place called China, as you probably know. You probably see. But we have a little work to do, and we’ll get it done. We’re having some very good numbers coming out in terms of the comeback — the comeback of our nation. And I think it’s going very rapidly and it’s going to be very good. But right now, we’re in that process of building.
And it’s an honor that you’re with us today. We very much appreciate it. I’m delighted to welcome members of the Workforce Policy Advisory Board. And I want to thank Ivanka; she works very hard on this board. She works very hard to get jobs. And it’s “Made in the USA” and jobs in the USA.
I saw a group of your people yesterday, having to do with ships. You’re involved in that partnership and it’s fantastic, what they’re doing in Wisconsin. It was really a great day.
The Secretary of Treasury is with us, and he’s worked very hard, and I think he’s got some very good things to say and some pretty big news.
And Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Labor Gene Scalia, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Small Business Administrator — who has definitely kept busy — Jovita. Where is Jovita? Jovita. Good. Jovita Carranza.
Thanks also to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who’s done terrifically. Kim — hi, Kim.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Good to see you.
THE PRESIDENT: Nice to see you. Thank you very much.
And Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana. And we always recognize Eric because he’s — how tall are you, Eric? (Laughter.) Little — he’s a pretty tall guy. Right? But we have one that’s a little taller. You know where that is? Alaska. You know that, right? You’re doing a great job. We appreciate it.
As well as the CEOs who have signed our Pledge to American Workers: Marillyn Hewson — thank you very much — of Lockheed Martin; Sebastian Thrun of Udacity; and Ginni Rometty of IBM. I want to thank you all. You’ve been really here from — from the beginning, very much from the beginning, and we appreciate it very much.
Together we built the greatest economy in history — and, literally, in the history of the world. Greatest we’ve ever had. The greatest the world has ever seen. And now we have to bring it back because we had to close in order to save millions of lives. We added 2.5 million jobs last month, which was incredible. A number — the largest monthly increase in history and more than double the previous record.
So we’re bringing it back. We had the greatest ever and we had to close it, and now we bring it back. And we start off with 2.5 million jobs in one month; I would say that’s pretty good, Marillyn. Right? That’s the highest ever done.
And then likewise, retail sales surged by nearly 18 percent last month. That was the biggest jump ever recorded. So that’s great.
The stock market is seeing you go back a week — one week. It’s the — saw the best 50 days in its history — best 50-day increase in the history of the stock markets.
Our Pledge to America’s Workers has secured commitments to over 16 million job and training opportunities from employers nationwide. And some of the employers are with us, and they’ve been fantastic.
I want to thank the American people for doing such an incredible job. They understand what’s happening, and they see how fast we’re turning it around. I want to just state that this is Americans of all backgrounds that we’re talking about, to have the chance — we want to get them the chance to learn and to build a successful career. We want to train Americans and we want to hire Americans. So we’re training American and we’re hiring American.
Before the pledge — and this is a very big factor. I mean, we have a — a problem that has about 22 different names, but I’ll just call it “the plague.” But before the plague struck, we had the lowest African American and Hispanic American, Asian American unemployment ever. We had the most jobs we’ve ever had, almost 160 million jobs. We’ve never been in a position like that. Women were thriving. Best numbers ever. And since my election, more than half of those jobs — more than half; first time that’s ever happened — went to women. But now we want to get that all back.
The African American group got hit very hard. The Hispanic American group got hit very hard. Essentially all groups got hit hard, but now it’s all coming back.
To further expand opportunity, I’m taking a bold action to reform the federal workforce. Today I’ll sign an executive order that directs the federal government to replace outdated — and really outdated — it’s called “degree-based hiring” — with skill-based hiring. So we want it based on skill.
The federal government will no longer be narrowly focused on where you went to school, but the skills and the talents that you bring to the job. We want that skill to be there. We want it based on merit. We’ve looked at merit for a long time, and we’ve been able to get that done.
And today’s signing is a very, very important one. I think maybe before I sign, I’ll ask Ivanka to say a few words. And then we’ll go around a little bit, we’ll pick a few people, and then we’ll sign, and we go back to work.
Thank you very much. Ivanka.
MS. TRUMP: Thank you, Mr. President. It’s an honor to have you here. We just convened our sixth meeting of our Workforce Advisory Board, and we got an update on the team’s response to your bold call to action.
First, we’re going to be launching — and Ginni Rometty, in partnership with Tim Cook, spearheaded this group — a massive advertising campaign that directs those that need to reskill, learn a new trade, to secure a job to the resources to enable them to do that. So we’re very excited about the launch of this private-sector-led and driven campaign to match Americans with the training they need, and ultimately the job vacancies that exist.
The advisory board is also creating a series of pilot programs — and Scott Pulsipher and Doug McMillon have been running these groups — where we really think about how we create the resumes of the future and allow people to find job vacancies based on skill — and for employers to connect with those unemployed workers, again, based on skill. So creating a lot more efficiency to that process.
You are once again leading by example here today with this EO signing. As the nation’s largest employer, we are always seeking to recruit and retain the best and the brightest to serve the American people. Last December, you fought for and secured paid leave for every federal worker — this was a first — creating a workplace that reflects our American values of work and family, and helping us retain our amazing talent.
It’s also why you fought so hard this spring, when COVID struck, to secure paid sick leave for Americans employed by small businesses and additional funding for child care providers helping millions and millions of Americans remain employed and providing relief to small businesses across the country. This is going to ensure a faster and stronger recovery.
Today, we’re taking that next step, as you mentioned, in signing an executive order that directs federal agencies to hire based on skills and knowledge, not just outdated degree requirements. This will allow us to better recognize the talents and competencies of all Americans we hire. You built once the most inclusive economy in this country’s history, and you’ll build it again.
Through our Pledge to America’s Workers, the private sector has committed to investing in the training and education of over 16 million American students and workers. And this continues, despite the vast change that — that the plague ushered in.
Companies like Udacity — Sebastian Thrun joins us today — have been leading the way, and they’ve been using their pledge commitment and fulfilling it by providing free tech training to American workers laid off as a result of COVID.
I recently had the opportunity to virtually meet one of the students that went through your program and received your scholarship in conjunction with the pledge, and it was incredible. His name was Tony. He was a lifelong truck driver. He owned his own business. It was a single rig that he had. Through a series of setbacks, the company ended up going under. He signed up for a course in tech, and is now a software engineer, providing for his family, absolutely loving what he does. And there are many, many stories like Tony that hopefully will inspire millions across the nation.
Marillyn Hewson, also an early pledge signer, of Lockheed Martin committed to hiring during the pandemic using virtual technology and other techniques to ensure recruitment processes move forward.
So with more people teleworking and learning from home than ever before, we have a lot to accomplish in the months ahead, and I’m really excited about your effort to extend this working group and to reform our federal hiring practices, as we think about building that inclusive American economy as we transition to greatness.
So, thank you for today. And it’s a pleasure to have you join us.
THE PRESIDENT: Great. Thank you very much, honey. Great job. It really has been. It’s been a labor of love.
MS. TRUMP: That’s true.
THE PRESIDENT: And Ivanka loves helping people. That’s a wonderful thing.
Marillyn, how about starting with you? Thank you.
MS. HEWSON: Well, thank you, Mr. President. It’s really an honor to serve on this policy board. And I must say, I agree with you: Advisor Trump — Ivanka Trump — and Secretary Ross have led us well. We’ve had a great effort over the last several meetings and put forward some strong recommendations that I help- — helped to match the skills together with the jobs that are there. And at Lockheed Martin, we’re proud that this year we’re on a path to hire 12,000 people. And a lot of it is around making sure that we are getting the kind of apprenticeships and scholarships and skills training for them so that they can link up to jobs in our operation.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you’ve done a great job. And I got to see it again. I mentioned it — it was so impressive what I saw — the whole group yesterday. It was really great to be there. And I didn’t know you had a big chunk of that one, but you’ve done very well with it, so we appreciate it.
Please, Sebastian. Please.
MR. THRUN: It’s a great honor to meet you. And I want to thank you for keeping us safe and moving us forward. This has been, of course, a vital time for all of us with over 30 million unemployed. It’s our chance to really redefine how education looks like and move into a world where people learn lifelong, have lifelong access, and unfold their livelihoods.
Ivanka was, of course, the visionary behind all of this. And thank you for doing this. I mentioned Tony Boswell — a truck driver who was driving trucks for 10 years, and then his truck broke down, and he couldn’t finance the new engine that he needed. He was unemployed, had no income, no education, and came across, by randomness, a Google scholarship that Udacity launched. And then, in 10 months’ time, was able to become a software engineer.
These are the stories that I believe this nation needs. I think we have so much opportunity, so much potential in this — in this great nation to bring people forward, and I think this is the time to do it.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s a great story. It’s a great story. Amazing story.
Ginni, please.
MS. ROMETTY: Yes. Well, first, Mr. President, thank you for your leadership during this time.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much.
MS. ROMETTY: And you used an important word when you described Ivanka’s contribution here as a “labor of love” because this is something — I think what the team has done collectively will have a very long-term impact, as well as short-term. And we are solving probably — or working towards helping solve one of the most important pro- — programs for growth for the country as well, so — to help anyone from any socio-economic background.
So I really — my hat is off and a thanks to Secretary Ross and to Ivanka for having led us through this. And I think what we have put on the table is substantive change, and I know it is a change to a company like mine.
So as you sign skills first, we’ve adopted that, and 15 percent of our hires last year were people from non-traditional backgrounds. And so it’s a — it’s really what this is all about, I think, in giving everyone a bright — a bright future in the digital era.
So thank you for that.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Ginni. Good job.
MS. ROMETTY: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Eric, go ahead, please.
GOVERNOR HOLCOMB: Well, I’ll just add my appreciation. I mean, what you’re doing today is leveling the playing field. And there’s been a lot of people, a lot of have-nots that will have an opportunity to join the haves. And to — to do it during a time of such challenge, but to recognize the opportunity that’s here, and to do it now — there couldn’t be a more important time.
So appreciate everyone’s effort around this table and your leadership on this front.
THE PRESIDENT: And Indiana is doing very well. I’m hearing good things.
GOVERNOR HOLCOMB: We are. We are moving in the right direction. We are — we’ve got 93,000 unfilled jobs right now —
THE PRESIDENT: Amazing.
GOVERNOR HOLCOMB: — that we need to fill. We’ve ushered in 100,000 jobs in just three and a half years; the previous record was 93,000 in four years. These are high-wage, high- demand jobs. These are $28, north, an hour.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great.
GOVERNOR HOLCOMB: So this is what it’s all about –skilling up the workforce. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great. Great job. Thank you very much.
Kim.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Well, thank you, Mr. President. And what I so appreciate about your administration is it’s really an administration of action. You identified barriers and gaps, and then you helped bring the right people together to find the solutions and enact those. So thank you very much.
It’s been an honor to be a part of this advisory board. I appreciate how, with the leadership of Ivanka and Secretary Ross, we really have identified the various elements, connected those elements — whether it’s been consistent data, definition, goals, and messaging. And I look forward to really amplifying that in the state of Iowa.
By executive order, I just created an economic task force. I brought several CEOs, business leaders, and nonprofits together to utilize their expertise in the way through innovation, adaptation, and creativity adjusted within weeks to the coronavirus.
And everything that this group has talked about will fold so well into what we’re trying to do at the state level. And when you think about that happening in every state across the country, we really are going to come back stronger and better and really help provide opportunities for every single American.
So thank you for leading it.
THE PRESIDENT: All right. And we see it now, Kim. Next year is going to be, we think, amazing, actually.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS: Yep. I agree.
THE PRESIDENT: It’s going to be an amazing year.
Larry, would you like to say something?
MR. KUDLOW: Yeah. Thanks, sir. I spoke just before you came, but I’ll just repeat the “V” shaped recovery. Virtually every number is showing a “V” shaped recovery now — private surveys, government statistics, restaurants, home builders, truckers, durable goods makers, Apple mobility and travel, gasoline demand.
As you said, the jobs went up really about 3 million in May. We had tremendous retail sales. Actually, today, in the income report, we had tremendous consumer spending: 8 percent at an annual rate for one month. It’s a great story.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s a great number. Yeah.
MR. KUDLOW: And I still think we’ll get 20 percent in the second half of the year. And if we get another 5 percent in the first quarter of next year, we will be right back to the peak in 2019, where you got us the first time with the growth policies.
And I just want to say: Ivanka, I gave you a big pitch, gave you — did the best I could. Private sector reskilling and retraining — and not only will people come back to the labor force when they’re reskilled; they’ll come back with higher wages, and they’ll come back with more confidence, and it’ll make a huge difference as it already has.
And so I’ve added you to the four pillars of growth. The President —
THE PRESIDENT: Good.
MR. KUDLOW: Tax cuts —
THE PRESIDENT: Good taste.
MR. KUDLOW: — deregulation, energy unleashing, fair trade deals, and private-sector-led reskilling. How’s that, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great. That’s great. And I’m very happy what you said about early next year. I think next year is going to be an incredible year.
Thank you very much, Larry.
MR. KUDLOW: Appreciate it.
THE PRESIDENT: Wilbur, would you like to say something?
SECRETARY ROSS: Yes, Mr. President. Thank you for the opportunity to help Ivanka and the others on this group. I’ve been very, very impressed with the productivity of this advisory board. Most advisory boards create a big, thick book at the end. It goes in the library and nothing happens. This group, every single meeting, there’s a specific, tangible thing that gets filed up and it gets implemented.
So it’s really been a heartwarming thing to see how productive these folks have been, and I congratulate all of them.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Gene, please.
SECRETARY SCALIA: Thank you, Mr. President. And you mentioned the three and a half percent unemployment rate just a few months ago. You did so many things for the American worker during those three years.
You know, back in the summer of 2016, the Congressional Budget Office said that we’d be at 5 percent unemployment in February. They said that, between then and February 2020, they said we’d create 1.9 million jobs; we created 7 million jobs.
So Larry touched on it. It was — it was policies of tax cuts, of deregulation that brought us there, which was just a wonderful thing for the American worker as jobs were being created and wages were rising.
But there was other work going on. And what you see today is a manifestation of other things that were being done that are now going to have their day to really help workers. We — we are coming back. Larry has mentioned some of the numbers. But we know that the training will be important, and we’re fortunate that this really, very extraordinary group — and as Secretary Ross has said, a group that really generated valuable product — they were working quietly to help train American workers.
I spoke earlier about a new apprenticeship rule that we adopted at the Labor Department that I think will be very helpful. This will be an important part of the rebound.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Gene, very much. Appreciate it.
Steve, please.
SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Thank you, Mr. President. Well, as others said, your economic team, working with you, knew how to create jobs and it created an enormous amount. And because of this virus, we had to, unfortunately, shut down the economy.
We know how to reopen the economy safely. Working with Congress, we put $3 trillion in. It’s beginning to work; we see it. And we’re — our work isn’t going to be done until every single one of these jobs is done.
We know we need a few more tools. We’ll go back to Congress next month, but we’re going to get everybody back to work. And I’m confident we’re going to see a strong third and fourth quarter as we reopen.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s great, Steve. Thank you very much.
Anybody else would like to say something? Anybody? Anybody? This is your chance. Go ahead. Please.
MS. ROLLINS: Mr. President, I just want to say, as your Domestic Policy Chief, what an extraordinary today — day today is, and here’s why: It’s not just the work of this council and the leadership of Ivanka, it is the executive order that you are about to sign that completely resets the playing field.
The federal government is the largest employer in the country, with 2 million employees. Two thirds of American adults do not have a college degree. Your signature that is recalibrating the workforce away from being degree-only to skillset is transformational.
And the opportunity for you to fight for all Americans — I think about Tony that Ivanka talked about; that Sebastian talked about from Udacity — from a truck driver, to a software engineer, next potentially into the federal government because of this executive order that is focusing on skills, rather than degrees.
Congratulations and thank you for your leadership. It’s extraordinary.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Anybody? Jovita.
ADMINISTRATOR CARRANZA: Yes, President Trump, thank you very much for your strong leadership.
You know, I sit in the audience here as part of a participate — participation of this particular advisory board, and I’m a recipient of the type of programs that you are actually implementing and supporting.
I started out as a box handler in a — in the world’s largest logistics company. And so when I hear everyone talk about the dedication of the workforce and establishing some really comprehensive training, I took advantage of every training opportunity there was in the private sector. And perhaps you’ll see another Administrator similar to me, based on the programs that you’re going to advocate and support.
And because of the public-private partnerships that this administration has enabled — the Paycheck Protection Program, just one example that has fortified small businesses, sustained their viability, and also protected their employees — a baseline of about 60 million employees. And so I thank you again for putting small businesses front and center.
And one other comment. I’m looking at all of these private sector companies — the super leaders in your various sectors. You are the primary contractors for the — the subcontractors that I represent as an advocate for Small Business Administration. So once you reinstate your viability, the small-business sector will then follow soon — soon after.
So thank you again, President.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Jovita. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY DEVOS: Mr. President —
THE PRESIDENT: Please.
SECRETARY DEVOS: I just appreciate your unrelenting focus on creating opportunity for all Americans, and that begins with opportunities in education. And I so appreciate your leadership there. And it’s been a privilege to be part of this, Ivanka. And, Secretary Ross, thank you for your work here.
We are privileged to carry out your vision in policy and action, as Governor Reynolds said. And thank you for your leadership.
THE PRESIDENT: Choice — how’s that going? Choice. Right?
SECRETARY DEVOS: Yes, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s what we want. Please.
MR. PULSIPHER: Yeah, I was just going to say thank you, Mr. President. From a university’s perspective, it’s often perceived as skills versus degrees. But in reality, in a skills-denominated future, it is that tide that lifts all boats. Because even those who possess degrees, they can better articulate the skills and competencies that they now have for the future of work.
And the reality is, too — is that it’s also more fair, it’s more equitable, it’s more prosperous for our workforce because what it really is, is it — it’s now about what you possess and what you can demonstrate, not how you acquired the competency and skill.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
MR. PULSIPHER: And so it just creates much more of an equitable — equitable pathway. And WGU, as a competency-based education provider, has always been focused on how do you articulate the outcomes of achieving a degree in a skills and competency-based way so it’s much more aligned with the future of work. And so it is truly that tide that lifts all boats.
So, this is a huge step in the right direction. So, thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: I agree with you 100 percent, I must say. I do.
Okay? Why don’t we sign? And this is a big deal. Congratulations to everybody in the room. This means a lot.
(The executive order is signed.)
Okay. We’ll do that for Marillyn. Who will take this?
(The President distributes a signing pen.)
(Applause.)
Thank you very much. (Inaudible.)
(The executive order is signed.)
Okay. That’s very good. We have pens for everybody. Here, honey. (Applause.) All right. Phase two. Thank you very much.
Well, thank you all very much. We appreciate it. This is really an important day for a lot of reasons. But this is one of them. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it very much. Thank you very much.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: “Consumer Spending and Savings Rate Strong”…
June 26, 2020
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears on Fox News with Stuart Varney to discuss a change in federal hiring policy. However, within the interview Ross notes some key economic data that has a very solid predictor value for economic growth.
Both the spending rates and the savings rates for Americans are at all time highs. The COVID-19 lockdown has limited purchase options, leading to less initial spending; however, consumers have a lot of recent cash reserve as shown in their rate of savings.
Ross is right, within this dynamic, as soon as economic limits are removed, the spending will boost the economy very quickly.
Centinel2012 