Chopper pressers are the best pressers.  Earlier today President Trump held an impromptu press availability as he departed the White House for a trip to Michigan.  [Video Below Transcript ADDED]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. So, we have a lot of good things going. We just had a meeting with Mitch McConnell and the group. And we’re working on a — a package of very positive things. We’re getting some very good numbers. It looks like the numbers are going to be very good into the future. We’re going to be very strong, starting with our transition period, which will be probably June — June, July. I think you’re going to see some very good numbers coming out. And next year is going to be an incredible economic year for this country. One of our best.

Always paying respects to the people that have lost their lives. We always have to remember that: the people that have lost their lives.

Do you have any questions? Please.

Q Mr. President, where are you on funding to Michigan? A lot of people are concerned. They’re flooded out. They said that’s the last thing they need is for a threat to come from the President.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re looking at the floods. We have our people from the Army Corps of Engineers there. We have FEMA there. I spoke with the governor, Governor Whitmer, yesterday, and we have a very good understanding. But we’ve moved our best people into Michigan and our most talented engineers, designers, the people from the Army Corps of Engineers. And they do these things better than probably anyone — anyone in the world.

Q What about the funding, though, that you threatened to take away the federal funding?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ll take a look. No, we’ll take a look. That was unrelated to that.

Q Can you explain why you’re pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty?

THE PRESIDENT: Russia and us have developed a very good relationship. As you know, we worked on the oil problem together. I think we have a very good relationship with Russia. But Russia didn’t adhere to the treaty, so until they adhere, we will pull out. But there’s a very good chance we’ll make a new agreement or do something to put that agreement back together.

But whenever there’s an agreement that another party doesn’t agree to — you know, we have many of those agreements around the world, where it’s a two-party agreement, but they don’t adhere to it and we do. When we have things like that, we pull out also. That’s why, with the arms treaties, if you look at the arms treaties, we’re probably going to make a deal with Russia on arms treaty. And China will be maybe included in that. We’ll see what happens.

But we have a lot of things. But when we have an agreement, when we have a treaty, and the other side doesn’t adhere to it — in many cases, they’re old treaties, old agreements — then we pull out also.

So I think what’s going to happen is we’re going to pull out and they’re going to come back and want to make a deal. We’ve had a very good relationship lately with Russia. And you can see that with respect to oil and what’s happening with oil.

Q What do you think about Michael Cohen getting out of jail today? He’s home now.

THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t know that.

Q He’s home. What do you think about that?

THE PRESIDENT: I didn’t know it. Nope. I didn’t know it.

Q Do you have a reaction?

Q Isn’t that going to increase tensions with Russia, though, right when you want to make things better?

THE PRESIDENT: Say it?

Q Isn’t this withdrawal going to make things be- — worse with Russia? Increase tensions?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I think that we’re going to have a very good relationship with Russia. I think that if you look at what happened with oil, where Russia, Saudi Arabia, and us got together, and we saved in our country millions of energy jobs. And you see oil now is solidifying. So it’s the best of all worlds. We’re saving the energy jobs but our drivers have a very low gasoline price.

Q Are you going to wear a mask today at the Ford plant?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t know. We’re going to look at it. A lot of people have asked me that question. I want to get our country back to normal. I want to normalize.

One of the other things I want to do is get the churches open. The churches are not being treated with respect by a lot of the Democrat governors. I want to get our churches open. And we’re going to take a very strong position on that very soon.

Q What about mosques, Mr. President? What about mosques? The Muslims are going to be celebrating the end of Ramadan soon. What about mosques?

THE PRESIDENT: Mosques too, yeah. Including mosques.

Q Do you have any messages for —

THE PRESIDENT: Including mosques.

Q Do you have any messages for the Muslims who will be celebrating the end of Ramadan?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I wish them well — very well.

Go ahead.

Q Can you talk about the AstraZeneca award? A billion dollars for 400 million doses of a potential new vaccine. How confident are you that one will be ready by the fall?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we have a lot of — you have AstraZeneca, which is a great company, and you have others, Johnson & Johnson. We have a lot of things happening on the vaccine front, on the therapeutic front. If you look at therapeutically, we’re doing great. And on the cure front — which is the next step — I think we have tremendous things. That announcement, I heard, came out this morning. That’s a very positive announcement in addition to all of the other announcements.

We are so far ahead of where people thought we’d be. But therapeutically, it’s very interesting what’s going on — and cure. So you’re going to have a lot big announcements over the next week or two.

Q Sir, you said the funding to Michigan was another issue not related to the flood. Can you just assure people that are concerned you’re going to hold funding?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re helping Michigan with their flood, and we have the people to do it.

Q But what about the funding though? You said federal funding for the mail-in voting.

THE PRESIDENT: We don’t want them to do mail-in ballots because it’s going to lead to total election fraud. So we don’t want them to do mail-in ballots. We don’t want anyone to do mail-in ballots.

Now, if somebody has to mail it in because they’re sick or, by the way, because they live in the White House and they have to vote in Florida and they won’t be in Florida — if there’s a reason for it, that’s okay. If there’s a reason. But if there’s not — we don’t want — we don’t to take any chances with fraud in our elections.

Q The Chinese Parliament is poised to pass a national security law cracking down on Hong Kong. Are you aware of this? What’s your reaction?

THE PRESIDENT: I don’t know what it is because nobody knows yet. If it happens, we’ll address that issue very strongly.

Q What about your plan for G7, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: So it looks like G7 may be on because we’ve done well. We’re ahead of schedule in terms of our country, and some of the other countries are doing very well. It looks like G7 will be on. A full G7. And we’ll be announcing something probably early next week.

Q Will it be June 10th? And how many world leaders have agreed?

THE PRESIDENT: I can’t hear you. You have your mask on. I can’t hear a word you’re —

Q How many world leaders have agreed to your June 10th plan?

THE PRESIDENT: We’ll be talking to you about it.

Q Sir, how long do you expect take hydroxychloroquine?

THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s another day. I had a two-week regimen of hydroxychloroquine. And I’ve taken it, I think, just about two weeks. I think it’s another day. And I’m still here. I’m still here. And I tested very positively in a — in another sense.

So, this morning —

Q Negatively?

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. I tested positively toward negative, right? So, no, I tested perfectly this morning, meaning — meaning I tested negative.

Q Have you taken the antibody test yet?

THE PRESIDENT: But that’s a way of saying it: positively toward the negative.

Q Have you taken the antibody test yet, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I have not.

Q Columbia University put out a report in The New York Times today. It said 36,000 people would’ve been saved if you guys did social distancing measures just one week earlier. Do you believe that? What’s your reaction to that?

THE PRESIDENT: I was so early. I was earlier than anybody thought. I put a ban on people coming in from China. Everybody fought me on that. They didn’t want it. Nancy Pelosi, a month later, was dancing in the streets of San Francisco in Chinatown so that people wouldn’t believe what’s happening. And I don’t even blame that. But I was way early.

Columbia is an institution that’s very liberal. It’s a — I think it’s a just a political hit job, if you want to know the truth.

Q So, do you want to have the G7 here at the White House or Camp David or what?

THE PRESIDENT: We’re going to have it probably at the White House and maybe a little combination at Camp David. But primarily at the White House. So if we do the G7, when that all comes together, probably it will be in D.C., at the White House. Okay? But there could be a piece of it at Camp David, which is nearby.

Q Are you taking antibody plasma?

Q Back on Open Skies, have you talked to any allies —

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Q — about this?

THE PRESIDENT: So, again, our relationship with Russia has improved greatly, especially since the Russian hoax happened — has been proven totally false and illegal what they did. They — this was an illegal hoax and they got caught. They got caught doing a lot of bad things. So let’s see how that turns out.

But our relationship with Russia has come a long way in the last few months. I think that the Open Sky will all work out. But right now, when you have an agreement, and the other side doesn’t adhere to the agreement, we’re not going to adhere to it either. But I think something very positive will work out.

Q Are you going to go to the launch on Wednesday in Florida?

THE PRESIDENT: What?

Q The launch — the rocket launch on Wednesday in Florida?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m thinking about going. That’ll be next week to the rocket launch. I hope you’re all going to join me. I’d like to put you on the rocket, get rid of you for a while. (Laughter.)

Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you, Steve.

END 12:40 P.M. EDT

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White House trade and manufacturing policy advisor Peter Navarro appears on Fox News to discuss the administration’s outlook toward China and the intense focus to bring critical manufacturing back to the U.S.

Earlier in the day a visibly angered President Trump told Maria Bartiromo he “doesn’t want to talk to China right now”, and Navarro highlights exactly why.   All administration policy and economic influence is targeted to remove Chinese manufacturing from the U.S. supply chain.  President Trump officials openly discussing an intentional U.S. effort to decouple from China is a significant shift…. WATCH:

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been in discussions for several years with both TSMC and Intel to build advanced chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. and extract U.S. supply chain needs from China and southeast Asia.  It appears his efforts, and the emphasis on global supply-chain shifts from President Trump, are getting results.

According to numerous media reports Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is likely to announce this week 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.

This shift in a high-tech supply chain will align with President Trump’s prior discussions with Tim Cook the CEO of Apple which led to a decision to invest in Texas.  TSMC is a chip supplier for Apple products; and Apple is moving to the 5nm processors in new devices. It looks like the movement of advanced industrial products away from China is underway.

(Via Appleinsider) – Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is set to announce that it plans to build an advanced chip factory in Arizona.

Taiwan-based TSMC is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of silicon chipsets and has long been Apple’s primary supplier of A-series chips.

Earlier tonight President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Treasury Steven Munchin and Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell met with the Joint Chiefs’ and National Security Team. [Video and Transcript Below]

Mark Meadows (Chief of Staff), Robert O’Brien (NSA), LTG Keith Kellogg (National Security Advisor to the Vice President), Secretary Mike Pompeo (State), Secretary Steven Mnuchin (Treasury), Secretary Mark Esper (Defense), Director Richard Grenell (ODNI).

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[Transcript] –  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This is the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and we’ve had a very productive meeting. It’s going to continue after you leave. But we’ve had a very, very productive meeting.

Our military is very strong, more — more so than it’s been in many, many years. I think I can say “in many, many decades.” We’ve spent one and half trillion dollars rebuilding our military, and it shows it. And we are discussing various things.

And, with that, thank you very much.

Thank you.

General Mark A. Milley, USA, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General John E. Hyten, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General David L. Goldfein, USAF, Chief of Staff of the Air Force
General David H. Berger, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps
General James C. McConville, USA, Chief of Staff of the Army
Admiral Karl L. Schultz, USCG, Commandant of the Coast Guard
General John W. Raymond, USSF, Chief of Space Operations

One of the unfortunate impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic is the elimination of most ceremonial gatherings for the 2020 graduating class.   Despite the inability to celebrate with gatherings of families and friends, President Trump and First Lady Melania send their congratulations to the graduates:

WHITE HOUSE – Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! The First Lady and I are very proud of you.

Over the past weeks and months, you, your classmates, teachers and administrators, and our Nation have experienced times of uncertainty and adversity. Much like our country, you have risen to the challenge with remarkable poise and determination, demonstrating the character traits that define the American spirit—resiliency, responsibility, and a stalwart drive to succeed.

Though this season of celebration has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, our country and communities need you now more than ever. Your leadership will be essential in the days and weeks to come in helping your fellow Americans recover from this hardship. I remain confident that the future of our Nation will be brighter than ever before.

As you arrive at this important milestone in your life, your heart should be filled with tremendous pride. Your resolve during this unprecedented time will serve you well as you embark on your next chapter. We hope you will continue to use your unique, God-given abilities to strengthen our great Nation.

We wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

(link)

During the coronavirus task force briefing President Trump was asked about his tweet earlier in the day regarding Iranian gunboats harassing U.S. Navy Ships.  The President was unambiguous in his response: “We’ll shoot them out of the water”.

White House Manufacturing Trade Advisor Peter Navarro is also leading the execution of the Defense Production Act to rally American resources in combating the Wuhan Virus. In this interview Navarro discusses the scale of Beijing’s influence over the World Health Organization as a propaganda operation.

Interestingly Navarro notes the Chinese delegation visit in January 2020 and the issues of human-to-human virus spread. CTH has long suspected U.S. intelligence on the Wuhan virus was behind Trump’s proactive health measures in November 2019. It would make sense for POTUS to have a heart-health evaluation prior to beginning a prophylactic regimen [hint hydroxychloriquine] and that might explain a particular advocacy emphasis later on. Just sayin’.

Additionally, Navarro again outlines the importance of returning our critical U.S. manufacturing back to the United States. Honeywell now making masks and GM making ventilators.  Peter Navarro is a patriot; in the right place for this moment in history.

Though the U.S. and Canada are not part of the “OPEC Plus” group, President Trump has  been leading negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Russia to broker a deal and stop their price war.  Today President Trump announces an agreement between the major petroleum exporting countries to curb oil production by approximately 10 million barrels per day:

Additionally, there was a loggerhead within the negotiations as Mexico did not want to cut their production by the requested amount of 400,000 barrels daily.  Mexico relies on oil as a large part of their economy. AMLO stated his economy could not withstand such a significant drop in state revenue.  Economic security is, after all, national security.

President Trump broke the OPEC+ stalemate by agreeing to decrease U.S. production by 300k/barrels allowing Mexico to drop a more manageable 100k/barrels.  Trump and AMLO reached an undisclosed agreement where Mexico will reimburse the U.S. later on.

I suspect the “reimbursement” will be more, well, strategically geopolitical than financial.  [*nudge-nudge*, *wink-wink*, *say-no-more/say-no-more*]  President Trump has an uncanny knack of collecting leverage for later, more strategic, purposes.  Just sayin’.

(VIA CNBC) […] Sunday’s emergency meeting — the second in four days — came as oil-producing nations scrambled to reach an agreement in an effort to prop up falling prices as the coronavirus outbreak continues to hammer demand. The agreement also ends a price war that broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia at the beginning of March, which further pressured oil prices as each sought to gain market share.

The group, known as OPEC+, initially proposed cutting production by 10 million barrels per day — amounting to some 10% of global oil supply — on Thursday, but Mexico opposed the amount it was being asked to cut, holding up the final deal.

Talks continued on Friday when energy ministers from the Group of 20 major economies met, and while all agreed that stabilization in the market is needed, the group stopped short of discussing specific production numbers.

Under OPEC+’s new agreement, Mexico will cut 100,000 barrels per day, instead of the 400,000 barrels per day it had initially been asked to cut.

The 9.7 million barrels per day cut will begin on May 1, and will extend through the end of June.  (read more)

With such a significant slow-down in global oil demand due to the coronavirus mitigation efforts, massive tanker ships have been loaded with oil and sit at sea awaiting the global economy to restart generating the need for their cargo.

Two Weeks Ago…. President Trump and Defense Secretary Esper announced a major deployment of U.S. military to interdict narcotics trafficking from Central America.

On the surface the effort to deploy naval assets to the Caribbean and southern pacific is justified based on intelligence drug cartels will exploit the coronavirus pandemic to ship more narcotics into the U.S.

However, in the bigger picture there’s also a likelihood the Chinese Communist Party would work with their geopolitical allies in Central American regimes to further weaken the U.S. during a time of increased vulnerability.

In times of war, or severe geopolitical confrontation, exploiting a vulnerability is a common strategy. Therefore it’s a smart and prudent geopolitical move for President Trump and U.S. military to take very aggressive action against the cartels and their communist sympathizers. There’s more going on here than appears on the surface.

Ergo, sometime in the future…

Barr: “The president is very thankful for your cooperation“…

AMLO: “So you’re saying this is an offer I cannot refuse?“..

Barr: “The President is very thankful for your cooperation“…