President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un enjoy a jovial social dinner at the completion of their first day of talks.  There is a genuine sense amid both leaders. The venue is Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi; which has french cuisine on the menu.

[Transcript remarks and dinner menu below]

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[Transcript] 7:08pm local – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Everybody having a good time?

Q Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You are? I hope so.

One of the great photographers of the world. (Laughter.) One of the great. Make us look very good tonight, please.

Q We’ll work on that.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: One of the great photographers, actually.

CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) We had exchanged a very interesting dialogue with each other —

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We did.

CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) — for about 30 minutes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Boy, if you could have heard that dialogue, what you would pay for that dialogue. It was good.

So we’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow, and we’ll probably have a pretty quick dinner and a lot of things are going to be solved, I hope. And I think it’ll lead to wonderful — it will lead to, really, a wonderful situation long term. And our relationship is a very special relationship.

Thank you very much everybody. Thank you. See you tomorrow.

END 7:09 P.M. ICT

The White House passed along the dinner menu from this evening’s social dinner between President Trump and Chairman Kim:

Shrimp Cocktail: Chilled shrimp, romaine leaves, thousand island dressing, diced avocado, fresh lemon and herbs

Grilled Sirloin with Pear Kimchi: Marinated tender sirloin grilled with sauce, served with kimchi fermented inside a pear.

Chocolate Lava: Hot runny centered chocolate cake, chocolate crumble, with fresh berries and vanilla ice cream.

Dried Persimmon Punch: Traditional beverage sweetened with dried persimmon and honey

The majority of the political engagements between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un will take place early Wednesday morning (U.S. EST). Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time.

Wed. Hostage Rescue Schedule and Livestream Below:

• 5:55am EST / 5:55pm (local) – President Trump departs his hotel en route to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:15am EST / 6:15pm (local) – President Trump arrives at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:30am EST / 6:30pm (local) – President Trump participates in a greeting with the Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Hanoi, Vietnam
• 6:40am EST / 6:40pm (local) – President Trump participates in a one-on-one conversation with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 7:00am EST / 7:00pm (local) – President Trump participates in a social dinner with Chairman Kim Jong-un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 8:35am EST / 8:35pm (local) – President Trump departs the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi en route to his hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam
• 8:55am EST / 8:55pm (local) – President Trump arrives back at his hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam

Day #1 (Wednesday Local) concludes.

HANOI – The White House said Trump would meet Kim at Hanoi’s French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 p.m. (6:30am U.S. EST), and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half.

[…] The two leaders, who seemed to strike up a surprisingly warm relationship at their first summit in Singapore last June, will be accompanied at dinner by two aides and interpreters, the White House said, before they meet again on Thursday. (link)

Dinner Attendees from the United States include:

T.H. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America
1. Secretary Mike Pompeo, Department of State
2. Mr. Mick Mulvaney, Assistant to the President and Acting Chief of Staff
Dr. Yun-hyang Lee, Interpreter

Dinner Attendees from the Democrat People’s Republic of Korea include:

H.E. Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
1. Mr. Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman, Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea
2. Mr. Ri Yong Ho, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Sin Hye Yong, Interpreter

Don’t be surprised to see the 6:30pm to 8:30pm time together between President Trump and Chairman Kim get extended; perhaps significantly extended. President Trump has a tendency to engage complex issues simply by cutting through the Gordian knot.

Both advance teams from the U.S. and DPRK have been on the ground in Hanoi for several weeks working out details comfortable to both leaders.

LIVESTREAM:

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President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un conduct their first one-on-one discussion during the historic Hanoi Summit (interesting remarks):

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[Transcript] Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam – 6:33pm (local)

CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) So it’s exactly 261 days since we met last time in Singapore, in June, last year.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Yes.

CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) And I truly believe that this successful and great meeting that we are having today is thanks to the courageous decision — political decision that your team, Mr. President, reached.

So, during that 261 days since we last met, there have been some misunderstandings. There have been all these eyes from the world who are misunderstanding the situation. But — and there was some hostility that still remains from the very, very past period that — from the outside.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Right.

CHAIRMAN KIM: (As interpreted.) But, however, we have been able to overcome all the obstacles, and here we are today after 261 days, in Hanoi.

I actually believe that those 261 days were the days which were — and during which a lot of painstaking efforts were necessary and also a lot of patience were needed.

But here we are today, sitting next to each other, and that gives us a hope that we will be successful with time. And I will really try to make that happen.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. That’s really nice.

Well, I want to just say it’s an honor to be with Chairman Kim. It’s an honor to be together in, really, a country, Vietnam, where they’ve really rolled out the red carpet and they’ve — they’re very honored to have us. And it’s great to be with you.

We had a very successful first summit. I felt it was very successful, and some people would like to see it go quicker. I’m satisfied; you’re satisfied. We want to be happy with what we’re doing. But I thought the first summit was a great success. And I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first. And we made a lot progress, and I think the biggest progress was our relationship is really a good one.

And as I’ve said many times — and I say it to the press, I say it to anybody that wants to listen: I think that your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited. And I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country — a great leader. And I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen. And we will help it to happen.

Thank you all very much. We appreciate it. And we’re going to go have dinner, and then we have some big meetings scheduled for tomorrow. And we’ll see you, I guess, at a news conference at some point during the day. Thank you very much.

Q Mr. President, do you have any reaction to Michael Cohen and his testimony?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: (Shakes head.)

END 6:37 P.M. ICT

President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un meet for the first time at the Hanoi, Vietnam, summit.   The location for the initial greeting, handshake and photo opportunity is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.

Remarks by President Trump – 6:28pm (local)

Q Mr. President, what do you hope to achieve in your talks with the Chairman?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think they’ll be very successful. Great relationship. I think they’re going to be very successful. We look forward to it. We both do.

Q Have you walked back at all on denuclearization in North Korea?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No.

Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, are you going to declare an end to the Korean War, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’ll see. We’ll be seeing.

Thank you. Thank you all very much. You’re coming back here in a while.

President Trump touched down in Vietnam at 8:45pm (local) / 8:45am (EST). Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of U.S. eastern time zone. President Trump arrived for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un aimed at removing nuclear weapons in exchange for economic benefits and better relations with the U.S. and the world.

President Trump was met at the airport with a delegation of Vietnamese government officials and U.S. embassy personnel. The Vietnamese also rolled out the red carpet with a full military color guard for the welcome.

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Fox News’s Ed Henry has a report from the hotel below:

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President Trump and the U.S. delegation have a working lunch with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Office of Government in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Lunch Menu:

Course 1: Fresh shredded green mango salad with scallops, mint leaves and cashew nuts served in a sweet vinaigrette dressing.

Course 2: deep fried Hanoi style spring rolls with shrimp, pork, vermicelli, and vegetables served with a side of sweet and sour fish sauce and red chillies.

Course 3: king crab meat and spinach in a light seafood-based broth

Course 4: grilled cod fish “cha ca”; roasted Wagyu beef medallions with foie gras and a semi-sweet fermented black rice sauce; sautéed “su su” vegetables with garlic (crispy green chayote stems and leaves); steamed sticky glutinous rice with shrimp wrapped in a lotus leaf.

Course 5: a traditional Vietnamese dessert consisting of lotus seeds, longans, and white wood-ear mushrooms served warm and in a light sugary syrup.

On the sideline of the President Trump and Chairman Kim summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, President Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong participate in a signing ceremony worth a combined $21 billion value in U.S. trade.

Contracts were signed by Kevin McCallister – President and chief executive officer of Boeing commercial airplanes; and Allen Paxson, Vice President of GE aviation.  On the Vietnamese side: Nguyen Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of VietJet Air; and Nguyen Thi Phurong Thao, President and CEO VietJet.  WATCH:

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Details include: VietJet will buy 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines.  Bamboo Airways will buy 10 Boeing 787-9 jets, and Vietnam Airlines will buy $100 million in services and technology from Sabre Corporation. “These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese International travelers.” (link)

Doug Mills

✔@dougmillsnyt

.@realDonaldTrump waves a flag as he participates in greeting with Nguyen Xuan Phu Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in Hanoi, Vietnam. #TrumpKimSummit

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You might remember the story from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where a man dining at a Mexican restaurant while wearing a MAGA hat was assaulted by a seemingly unhinged woman.  The police were called and she was arrested. Quick video reminder below:

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Well, the story takes a rather interesting twist today.  Apparently she was in the country illegally:

FALMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) – A woman who was charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery after she was caught on camera accosting a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat at a Falmouth restaurant has been taken into ICE custody after officials determined she was in the U.S. illegally.

[…] “Deportation officers with ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Rosiane Santos, an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil, today near Falmouth, Massachusetts,” the agency said in a statement. “Santos is currently facing local charges of assault and other offenses. She is presently in ICE custody and has been entered into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts.”  (more)

There’s a considerable backstory {Go Deep} to the announcement today where Fiat Chrysler will be investing $4.5 billion in new manufacturing, and 6,500 additional jobs.

Fiat Chrysler’s Mike Manley watched legendary CEO Sergio Marchionne dealing with President Trump in 2017 during two sets of meetings with key auto leaders. POTUS and titan Marchionne got along great; both old school deal-makers. There was a lot of respect between the two leaders. There’s no doubt Mike Manley took heed of Sergio Marchionne’s approach when he took over as CEO of Fiat Chrysler in 2018.

(Via CNBC) […] The automaker says it will hire 6,500 workers and invest $4.5 billion by adding a new assembly plant in Detroit and boosting production at five existing factories.

CEO Mike Manley said expanding in Detroit is a logical decision given the company’s facilities in the area and the desire to produce Jeeps in the U.S. “We’re an American brand. We’re proud of that within the Jeep brand,” he said in a statement.

Executives have made it clear for months that the company would be expanding Jeep production, including converting an idled engine plant in Detroit into a full-time final assembly plant.

Fiat Chrysler will spend $1.6 billion converting the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into the final assembly plant for next generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and an all-new three-row, full-size Jeep SUV. The move will create 3,850 new jobs.

The company will also be adding production of two all-new Jeep models, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, two models Manley believes will help fill a hole in the brand’s portfolio when it comes to large SUVs. While most of the models will be sold in the U.S., Manley is looking at the production from a global viewpoint.

“All of these vehicles will be opened up for our export markets,” he said. (read more)

There’s a massive shifting of manufacturing in the auto-industry taking place, and President Donald Trump is at the center of it.  The USMCA trade agreement is the newly constructed Trump fulcrum underneath the structure of all auto manufacturing.  POTUS Trump has shifted the location of this fulcrum through auto-tariffs; and the final determinations therein are still ongoing.

At the end of last year POTUS invited the EU auto executives to the White House.  No doubt Trump, the executive businessman, was seeking to understand their position on how the EU crew will comply with a 75% USMCA rule of origin…. and feel-them-out over what leverage he could apply (tariff threshold) to enhance their manufacturing relocation decision.

With a current tariff at 2.5% the EU won’t move anything just pay the duty; however at 10% or higher the EU manufacturers might move engine building or transmission building to North America etc to get inside the rules of origin threshold.

Throughout all of 2018 President Trump was exploring the Mercedes, VW and BMW perspectives while Angela Merkel was gnashing her teeth.

President/Businessman Trump has been diligently working through a process to establish high-wage U.S. manufacturing workers.  From day one the president has been in apex predator mode.  The combination of USMCA rules and tariff possibilities are like blood in the water surrounding: Dr. Dieter Zetsche (Mercedes), Dr. Herbert Diess (VW), and Dr. Nicholas Peter (BMW); while Trump simply asked questions.

Mike Manley the new CEO and steward of Fiat Chrysler wants nothing to do with a scenario where President Trump becomes adverse to his corporate objectives.  Manley ain’t about to get in the water with an apex business predator as president.  He knows the value in keeping U.S. economic policy aligned with his corporate interests.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence surged in February; bouncing back for the first time in four months.  A sign that Americans have worked through the consistent media nay-saying, and shrugged off the government shutdown doomsday predictions and worries about a so-called media fabricated ‘recession‘.

The consumer confidence index exceeded all expectations climbing to 131.4 this month from a revised 121.7 in January, the Conference Board said Tuesday.