Tax cuts and regulatory reform; USMCA trade agreement negotiated and passed; Mexico halting illegal migration flows; new central American amnesty agreements; border wall under construction; lower energy costs; lower and stabilized fuel costs; highest blue collar wage gains in decades; largest resurgence of manufacturing jobs in 50 years; Korea-US trade agreement (KORUS); U.S-Japan trade agreement; U.S-China trade agreement (phase-1); withdrawal from Trans-Pacific multinationals (TPP); dissolution of Paris climate treaty; approval for ANWR energy development; five new gasoline refineries; U.S. energy independence; U.S. worlds largest producer of energy; LNG energy exports; elimination of excessive federal regulations; SNAP reforms; 3.5% unemployment; largest employed U.S. workforce in history; 150,000 employer registrations to U.S. trade-skills apprenticeship; seven new industrial steel manufacturing plants; low and stable 1.5% inflation; highest GDP growth amid industrial nations; highest consumer confidence in decades; highest small business confidence in decades; 7.3 million jobs available (JOLTS); one year net employment gain 2.4 million workers; two supreme court justices; no new wars; NATO countries stepping up defense financing; troops coming home; pay raises for military; VA Choice created; right-to-try legislation passed; U.S. embassy in Jerusalem; North Korean hostages released; ISIS destroyed, caliphate dismantled; al-Bagdadi dead.  These are just a few of President Trump’s recent accomplishments off the top of my head:

Donald J Trump was the only candidate in 2016 who knew how to use China’s panda playbook against them.  Thus, when you plant your tree in another man’s orchard, don’t be surprised when he charges you to harvest your own apples…

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will lower import tariffs on over 850 products from Jan. 1, including frozen pork and frozen avocado, the finance ministry said.

It will also further lower import tariffs on some information technology products from July 1 next year, said the ministry, in a statement on its website. (link)

Today President Trump will be speaking at Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida.  The anticipated start time is 5:00pm ET:

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream Link – NBC Livestream Link

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An interesting tweet from President Trump today with a clearly coded message to North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un.  Within the message President Trump notes an ongoing dialogue with Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping about Kim’s status.

The hostage negotiations happening against the backdrop of a negotiated ransom, the U.S-China “phase-one” trade agreement:

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will make good on a pledge to purchase more than $40 billion per year of U.S. agricultural products under the recently agreed Phase 1 trade deal between the two countries, China’s top agriculture consultancy said on Friday.

Chinese purchases of agricultural goods are expected to increase to $40 billion to $50 billion annually over the next two years under the deal aimed at resolving the long-running trade war between the world’s top two economies, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

The deal has yet to be signed, fuelling scepticism over whether China will be able to import such a large amount of U.S. farm products.  (read more)

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“Complicated business folks,… complicated business”…

Tonight President Trump will deliver remarks at Joint Base Andrews and sign the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.  Included in the bill are twelve weeks of paid parental leave, initiation funds for the United States Space Force and Southern border wall funding. President Trump will then fly to Florida for the holidays.

Anticipated start time 7:30pm ET.

WH Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream – Fox Business Livestream

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This is interesting. Last year Speaker Pelosi used the SOU invite to play out political gamesagainst President Trump.  This year, considering the political impeachment effort, I thought she would be likely to replay that scheme; but she didn’t.   This implies the private polling and public sentiment (ie. bbacklash) against her constituent democrats must be much more severe than is currently visible:

Per Hogan Gidley: President Donald J. Trump has accepted the Speaker’s invitation to deliver the State of the Union Address on February 4, 2020.