Based on time zones (Japan is 13 hours ahead), and considering Lighthizer left on Thursday; it would appear Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are meeting right about now.
(Reuters) – Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday that he will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Tokyo on Saturday for trade talks ahead of a summit meeting between leaders from the two nations on Monday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to discuss topics including North Korea’s nuclear programs, trade issues and the coming Group of 20 leaders’ summit. (link)
Following the State Dinner to celebrate the beginning of the Reiwa Era, introduced with the coronation of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to hold a summit and joint press conference on Monday.
There is a rumor their presser may include a “significant announcement.”
I cannot think of a non-splendid reason for Ambassador Lighthizer to fly all the way to Japan if Trump and Abe didn’t have something planned.
The People’s President delivering buckets of fun. During a refueling stop in Alaska, en route to Japan, President Trump greets a standing group of smiling troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson… “I figured I might as well get out of the plane.” [Video]
Chopper pressers are the best pressers. As President Trump and First Lady Melania depart the White House for Japan, the president paused for an impromptu presser with the White House press pool. [Video and rough draft transcript below]
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[Rough Transcript] […] A — I’m very transparent, so as you know I declassified everything, everything they want, I put it under the auspices of the attorney general. He’s going to be in charge of it. He’s a great gentleman and a highly respected man, so everything that they need is declassified and they’ll able to see how the hoax or witch hunt started and why it started.
It was an attempted coup, an attempted take-down of the president of the United States it should never ever happen to anybody else so it’s very important. People have been asking me to declassify for a long period of time, I decided to do it, and they’ll learn a lot. I hope it’s going to be nice perhaps it won’t be.
Q — inaudible
A — The Middle East, we’re going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective, and uh, some very talented people are going to the Middle East now and we’ll see how, we’ll see what happens. It’ll be about 1500 people.
Q — inaudible
A — Yeah that’s possible, but I do believe you can’t go down two tracks. If you look at Judiciary if you look at what’s going on, all they talk about in the House is this. I’d like to talk about lowering drug prices, which I’ve done better than any president ever. We had a year this year as you know drug prices went down first time in 51 years. I’d like to talk about. Because with Congress you can get it down 40 and 50 percent. But I can’t do that when all they want to do is try and do a redo of the Mueller report. They were very unhappy with the Mueller report, they want to do a redo of the Mueller report. It’s over there is no redo they lost. It was very clear. There was no collusion, there was no obstruction, so there’s no redo.
Q — could Drs be forced to perform gender reassignment surgery ?
A — [hard to hear, either “what do you think’ or ‘we’ll see’]
Q — about Theresa may
A — I feel badly for Theresa. I like her very much. She’s a good woman. She worked very hard. She’s very smart. She decided to do something that some people were surprised at, some people weren’t, it’s of the good of her country. But I like her very much. In fact I’ll be seeing her in 2 weeks.
Q — why are you considering pardoning war criminals, and does that endanger our troops?
A — we’re looking at a lot of different pardons for a lot of different people. Some of these soldiers are people that have fought hard, long, you know we teach ’em how to be great fighters. You know when they fight sometimes they get really treated very unfairly so we’re going to take a look at it, I haven’t done anything yet I haven’t made any decisions. There’s 2 or 3 of them right now. It’s a little bit controversial. It’s very possible that I’ll let the trials go on and I’ll make my decision after the trial.
Q – Michael Avenatti?
A — I wish him a lot of luck.
Q- Theresa May and Five-Eyes?
A — I may very well talk to her about that yeah. There’s word and rumor that the FBI and others were involved, CIA were involved, with the UK having to do with the Russian hoax and I may very well able to talk to her about that yes.
Q — Nancy Pelosi?
A — Well I don’t know about the videos, I can tell you, what I need here is to help the country. That’s why I did this. Our country is doing unbelievably well. We have the best economy we’ve probably ever had. We have the best job numbers we’ve ever had. We have the best unemployment numbers we’ve ever had. With all of the unemployment numbers that’s what I’m all about. I don’t think they can go down 2 tracks.
I want to get drug prices down. I want to get things like if you look at infrastructure and others, I want to get a lot of things done. I don’t think they’re capable of going down two tracks. I think they can only do one thing or the other. So let em finish the one. What I don’t think is right is you do a redo. They were very unhappy with the m report. No collusion, no obstruction, no nothing. They’re very unhappy, they’re angry about it. They have to get over their anger, they have to get over their — wait a minute. They have to get over their anger and they have to get in to infrastructure, drug prices and things like that. Because they want to do a redo. Even the fact that they’re asking bob Mueller to testify. He just gave them a 434 page report which says no collusion, which leads to absolutely no obstruction he just gave that report. Why does he have to testify? That’s ridiculous. They want to get onto drug prices, lowering them, we can cut em by 50 or 60 percent. The one thing I’m v proud of also on drug prices I brought it down first time in 51 years that drug prices went down. But if I can work with congress we can cut 50 percent and more off drug prices. I can work with these people… I can absolutely work.
Q — about Nancy Pelosi
This shows how fake you are. When you say a personal attack. Did you hear what she said about me long before I went after her? Did you hear? She made horrible statements, she knows they’re not true, she said terrible things, so I just responded in kind. Look, you think Nancy’s the same as she was? She’s not. Maybe we could all say that. But I think, I think, frankly I think right now we are I’m only speaking for myself I wanna do whats good for the country I think Nancy Pelosi is not helping this country, I think the democrats are obstructionist, they’re hurting our country very very badly. We can pass so many different bills right now but all they want to do is investigate because they failed with Robert Mueller, the Mueller report.
They want to try to get a do-over of the Mueller report. It doesn’t work that way. And just so you know I was the most transparent and am transparent president in history. We gave 500 witnesses, I allowed attorneys to testify in front of bob Mueller. 2500 subpoenas, 1,400,000 pages of documents, we gave it… and then we get a great result and they say oh this is terrible, let’s do it over again. You can’t do it. The country doesn’t have that kind of time.
We’re gonna say. As you know I declassified I guess potentially millions of pages of documents I don’t know what it is I have no idea but I want to be transparent. Everybody wanted me to declassify I’ve done it. And you could almost say he’s the trustee, he’s a highly respected man. Our AG is in charge. Let’s see what he finds. But we have documents now that I have declassified for the purpose of the AG he can then show them to the public, do whatever he wants to do with them, but you have to get down to what happened. Because what happened is a tremendous blight on our country. What happened, the investigation, they tried to do a take-down and you can’t do that. Let me just tell you this should never ever happened to another president again.
Q- what message do you want to spend to military families who are concerned about you sending troops to the Middle East?
A — I think ti’s going to be very good in the Middle East. Iran has been very as you know they stage terror all over the world. They’re a much different country now than when I first got here. When I first got here, they were in 14 different locations fighting. Right now I don’t think Iran wants to fight and I certainly don’t think they want to fight with us. But they cannot have nuclear weapons and under the Obama horrible agreement they would have had nuclear weapons within 5 or 6 years . They can’t have nuclear weapons and they understand that.
Q – why should people trust the AG to select what’s declassified? Even Robert Mueller expressed concerns…
A — the question is so false and so phony. Let me explain to you something. Th AG is one of the most respected ppl in this country and he has been for a long period of time. He’s going to look at a lot of documents. Some he might find interesting, maybe he’ll find none interesting, but for over a year people have asked me to declassify. So what I’ve done is, I’ve declassified everything.
He can look and I hope he looks at the UK, and I hope he looks at Australia, and I hope he looks at Ukraine, I hope he looks at everything, because there was a hoax that was perpetrated on our country, it’s the greatest hoax, excuse me, excuse me, it’s the greatest hoax probably in the history of our country and somebody has to get to the bottom of it. We’ll see. But for a [long] period of time they’ve wanted me to declassify it and I did.
Q – is this about getting payback?
A — This is about finding out what happened. I won an election. I own it easily. 306 to 223. I won it pretty easily. And I’ll tell you what this is all about what happened and when did it happen because this was an attempted take-down of the president of the United States and we have to find out why did somebody write a text message, two lovers, that if she loses we have an insurance policy? An insurance policy to take down the president? We’re going to find out what happened and why it happened. Let me just tell you, I don’t care about payback, I think it’s very important for our country to find out what happened.
Q — are you worried that these investigations are hurting your re election chances?
A — I don’t know, my poll numbers are very good, you don’t like to report em but I guess we have a 48 today, we have a 51. We have very good poll numbers considering. Now I have to tell you, if you people would give straight news I’d be at 70, I’d be maybe at 75. But you don’t give straight news, you give fake news. With fake news I’m still winning the election. But if you gave serious, good news, the way your’e supposed to, I’d probably be at 70 or 75 based on the economy alone.
Q — on Modi
A — I just spoke to prime minister Modi and I gave him my warmest regards and congratulations. I just spoke to pm Modi minutes ago and I just conveyed congratulations on behalf of our country, myself and everybody. He had a great election when he’s a fine friend of mine, we have a v good relationship with India.
Q — are you being protected by William Barr?
A – No I just want somebody that’s going to be fair. I think William Barr is the most respected man, one of the most respected men doing what he does in our whole country. I just want him to be fair. I don’t want him to be for me or for anybody else, I just want him to be fair and that’s what he is and we’re going to find out what this yields but I will tell you declassifying, people have wanted men to do it for a long time. I think it’s v important to do and basically what are we doing? We’re exposing everything. We’re being, a word that you like, transparent. We’re being ultimately we’re being transparent and that what’s it’s about. Again, this should never ever happen in our country again.
Now that President Trump has officially designated the Declassification Memorandum we can review the specifics for process, content and timing. Our previous research led to a set of expectations for the directive. Now, that we have the directive in hand, we gain increased clarity of purpose.
♦ First, President Trump has assigned ownership of the Directive to U.S. Attorney General William Barr. This part was predictable because the purpose of declassification would be to facilitate a DOJ review of how the intelligence apparatus was used in the 2016 election.
Additionally, because the DOJ review encompasses intelligence systems potentially weaponized in 2016 for political purposes and intents, President Trump carries: (a) declassification authority; but also: (b) an inherent conflict. In this DOJ endeavor candidate Trump would have been the target of corrupt agency activity; and therefore would be considered the target/victim if weaponization were affirmed by evidence.
To avoid the conflict President Trump designates the U.S. Attorney General as arbiter and decision-maker for the purposes of declassifying evidence within the investigation:
…”The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information.” (link)
Additionally, AG Bill Barr does not need to assemble the intelligence product for approval by the executive (Trump). Instead the office of the president is granting the AG full unilateral decision-making as to each product being considered for declassification.
This is a huge amount of trust from the President to the Attorney General, and a big responsibility for William Barr:
[Sec 2] …”With respect to any matter classified under Executive Order 13526 of December 29, 2009 (Classified National Security Information), the Attorney General may, by applying the standard set forth in either section 3.1(a) or section 3.1(d) of Executive Order 13526, declassify, downgrade, or direct the declassification or downgrading of information or intelligence that relates to the Attorney General’s review referred to in section 1 of this memorandum.” (read more)
The position-designate slightly works around custom insofar as the intelligence hub, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (Dan Coats), is given conference – but the decision making is designated to the Attorney General (Bill Barr).
Essentially the DNI will be following the instructions of the AG for this Memorandum. This is slightly unusual; but given the purpose, necessary and expected.
♦ Secondly, following protocol, the Memorandum is specific to the agencies carrying the documentation that will be reviewed by the Attorney General: The Secretary of State (Pompeo); the Secretary of Treasury (Mnuchin); the Secretary of Defense (Shanahan); the Secretary of Energy (Perry); the Secretary of Homeland Security (McAleenan); the Director of National Intelligence (Coats); the Director of the CIA (Haspel), and the Attorney General himself (Barr).
The agencies give insight into the intelligence product (ie. evidence) being reviewed. The Treasury and Energy agency was surprisingly notable:
Considering the purpose of the Memorandum: “The Attorney General is currently conducting a review of intelligence activities relating to the campaigns in the 2016 Presidential election and certain related matters“… The appearance of Treasury and Energy would indicate the pre-existence of investigative evidence; that would be subject to ongoing DOJ review; and potentially be part of ongoing proceedings.
Potential target issues could include: (1) an investigation of Uranium One; (2) an investigation of the Clinton Foundation; and, (3) an investigation of matters related to payments to Iran.
Treasury would come into play with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS); which was part of the Uranium One process and also included the Dept. of Energy. Additional related matters could include George Papadopoulos $10k (Treasury); and The Clinton Foundation. [Obviously this is supposition, but there are not too many alternate investigative pathways for intelligence within Treasury and Energy.]
The absence of FBI in the memorandum designation is not unusual as the FBI is an internal agency of the DOJ where Barr already has supervision and decision-making authority.
However, that said, one does have to wonder where current FBI Director Christopher Wray, current Deputy Director David Bowditch and current FBI legal counsel Dana Boente line-up within the DOJ investigation itself.
♦ Third, within the memorandum the President does not allow AG Bill Barr to delegate authority. However, all agencies are required to respond to Barr’s authority.
The purpose of the Declassification Directive also appears to permit the DOJ Inspector General to include classified material in the body of the upcoming report on FISA abuse; this memorandum is granting AG Bill Barr the autonomy to make that decision and declassify that content.
♦ Lastly, regarding the timing of release…. While the purpose of the authority is to empower AG Bill Barr to collect, process and declassify intelligence product that is part of the DOJ investigative review, this does not preclude the public release of intelligence information in advance of the IG report on potential FISA abuse.
Much of the intelligence information may be collected external to the IG review parameters (FISA process), and may be released independently as part of stand-alone declassification that pertains to weaponized DOJ, FBI and CIA political activity.
Ultimately the decision to release, and the timing therein, is now in the hands of U.S. Attorney General William Barr.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made an unscheduled visit to Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day. As more than 260,000 flags were being placed at the graves of U.S. service members, the president and first lady visited with U.S. Army personnel who participate in the annual remembrance and solemn event.
The President and First Lady placed flags at headstone of Frank Buckles who was the last surviving World War I veteran before his passing. President Trump will not be in the U.S. to observe the Memorial Day holiday, as both he and Melania head to Japan for an official state visit on Friday.
While in Japan President Trump and the first lady will be participating in a Memorial Day event at Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base where they will honor our fallen soldiers.
Video [Note: today’s trip wasn’t on the president’s public schedule, and reporters were kept far away to hear what was said.]
President Trump is holding a White House event to support Farmers and Ranchers and announce a transitionary aid package to help during the restructuring of the global supply chain and a reset in U.S-China engagement. Anticipated start time 3:15pm EDT.
The headlines are once again examples of an ideological media. “Stunning”, “surprising”, “unexpected”, etc. However, far from the headline ideology; in a result that is splendidly falling into place for a much more consequential geopolitical landscape; things are going swimmingly…
Reuters Headline: “India’s Modi stuns opposition with huge election win”
NEW DELHI/AYODHYA (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory on Thursday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security.
His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defense.
Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 302 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament.
That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Votes will be fully counted by Friday morning.
Modi was showered with rose petals by some of the thousands of cheering supporters who waited for hours in a thunderstorm for his arrival at party headquarters on Thursday evening. (read more)
Yes Alice, the planets have aligned. It is remarkable how each event falls exactly into the place needed for President Donald J Trump. Truly,… almost divinely inspired.
The BRIC economic alliance (Brazil, Russia, India and China) has been disassembled. Nationalist/populist Brazil and nationalist/populist India are now more aligned with nationalist/populist Trump. China and Russia are bleeding cash to retain influence. Economic security is national security. Things are going swimmingly.
Reminder: All of the geopolitical indicators are present…. and it is important to remember that historic trilateral Buenos Aires summit between President Trump, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and India’s Prime Minister Modi.
Taken in totality with the November 2017 “Golden Ticket” tour of Asia, it looks like President Trump structured two facets of the Indo-Pacific alliance, as far back as 2017, to be a hedge against China.
It appears that President Trump started his administration with a plan for a broad alliance of ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) to replace the U.S. economic engagement with China. More specifically, it appears to me that President Trump is using Japan as the fulcrum, and repaying Shinzo Abe by working with Modi (India) to open up the India economy.
There’s a similar precedent for this. Historically, think about how the U.S. helped Canada by using the scale of the U.S. economy to open trade doors, and then leveraging the engaged country to also permit Canadian benefit (entry).
It looks like President Trump is using the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific alliance as the hedge against China. Japan is key for this to work; with support from Vietnam, S-Korea, Philippines etc; and then Trump repays Japan by opening up the U.S. for India exports, and in turn India opens for Japanese imports.
♦Economic security is national security. ♦The KORUS (South Korea-U.S.) trade deal was already reached last year. ♦Japan essentially controls the TPP group. ♦A new trilateral alliance resets global supply chains (disrupting One Belt/One Road); and yet retains the value of regional manufacturing (Vietnam, Philippines, S-Korea, etc).
If my spidey-sense is correct, Shinzo Abe will be very open to Trump’s unilateral trade requests (perhaps Monday announcement) because Abe sees an enlarging Japanese GDP through new accessibility to India. It’s a win-win-win.
Trump opens up for India (Indo-Pacific).
India opens up for Japan (Indo-Pacficic).
Japan increases investment in U.S.A. [(U.S-Japan trade agreement); and with new focus on national security, an expanded Japanese GDP permits security purchases from U.S.A.]
This is a very public letter. Obviously British diplomats, politicians and intelligence officials will have immediately read it. Perhaps Chairman Devin Nunes is opening the door for President Trump to aid in a more, well, diplomatic approach to the questions.
Heck, there’s no guarantee Theresa May will still be Prime Minister on Friday. The U.K. election for representatives to the EU parliament is tomorrow, Thursday 5/23/19. There’s a possibility Nigel Farage’s newly formed Brexit Party is going to win big in that election…. If that happens, U.K. politics will be completely disrupted.
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BNL NEWS@BreakingNLive
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BREAKING NEWS: U.K. PM Theresa May to resign tonight, following badly criticized handling of Brexit – reports
The White House provided a background presser for information about President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s upcoming state visit to Japan. [Transcript below] There are some interesting aspects to the itinerary as outlined; however, first, it’s important to emphasize the context.
As CTH shared earlier: At the highest levels of finance and business; in a process within both private industry and the geopolitical realm of government; a key aspect to every long-term strategic reset is the formation of an alliance. Every successful titan of industry who has structurally changed history has influenced an alliance toward the effort.
I strongly suspect, in anticipation of the China confrontation; and considering the scale of the consequences therein; President Trump selected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the center of an Indo-Pacific alliance (several years ago). With the knowledge of USTR Lighthizer heading to Japan with an advance trade team…. now consider:
Via Teleconference – 2:31 P.M. EDT – PRESS OFFICER: Good afternoon, everybody. I’m happy you all could join. We have with us today [senior administration official]. He’ll be providing some brief remarks about the President’s upcoming trip to Japan and a few Q&A afterwards. This will be on background and you can attribute what he says to a senior administration official.
The time is going to be extremely limited, so we ask that you limit the questions to the trip itself. And we’ll take as many of those as we can in the time that’s allotted for us.
If there’s any questions or concerns following, or, you know, follow up or anything like this, I think most of you would have our contact at NSC press. Please reach out to me or to that distribution and we’ll take care of that.
With that, I’ll turn to my colleague for a few opening remarks and then we’ll do the Q&A.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great. Thanks. And thanks for dialing in this afternoon, everybody. So the President and the First Lady will be traveling to Japan this Saturday, May 25th, and returning to the U.S. on Tuesday, May 28th.
As Japan’s first state guests following the enthronement of His Majesty Emperor Naruhito on the first of May, this visit by the President comes really at a historic moment in Japan and it demonstrates that the alliance between the United States and Japan has never been stronger.
The alliance serves as the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States’ and Japan’s shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific serves as the foundation for a global partnership that strengthens security, prosperity, and a rules-based order around the world.
After his arrival on Saturday night, the President is going to meet informally with Prime Minister Abe on Sunday, and also join him that day in watching a sumo wrestling match.
On Monday, the President will have a state call on Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, followed by bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Abe and his team.
That evening, the Imperial Family will host the President and the First Lady at a state banquet.
The President and the First Lady will bid farewell to Their Majesties in the morning, on Tuesday, and then they will proceed — the President will proceed to the Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base where he will honor our troops for Memorial Day.
So, with that, I’d be happy to entertain some questions.
Q Hi, this is Steve Herman, Voice of America. I’m wondering if we’re going to have any deliverables on trade or on defense issues as a result of this visit.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, Steve, thanks for that. In terms of deliverables, there’ll be some things coming out over the course of the visit. The President and Prime Minister Abe will likely hold a joint press conference where they’ll have some very interesting announcements covering, really, the range of the relationship. Thanks.
Q Hi, this is Katie Rogers with The New York Times. I’m wondering if you can go into the Tuesday visit to the base at all. Is the President expected to tour any vessels or look at any equipment? I’m just kind of wondering what he is going to say in terms of security there and the alliance there, and what he’ll actually be doing at the base.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Yeah. You know, he’s going to have a chance to see the base, see one of our warships. He’ll have the chance to address troops, to talk about Memorial Day, but also really to talk about the strength of the Japan alliance, to talk about the importance of the alliance in deterring aggression in the region, and also to highlight the regional but also global nature of the partnership between Japan and the U.S.
So we’ll have more details in coming days on the exact schedule there.
Q Thanks again for doing the call. I wanted to follow up on the more cultural aspect. You said that they’ll have an informal activity on Sunday. We’re all assuming that’s golf. But if you could confirm.
And secondly, he’s supposed to attend, as you mentioned, the sumo match, but there are some reports that that’s now in question because of security. So I was wondering if you could also speak to that and confirm that the sumo is on.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks for the question. The full detailed schedule will come out a little bit later when we get closer to the day.
But the sumo event is very much on. I am not aware of the reports that you mentioned. This is what’s called the Spring Basho Sumo Tournament. It’s a major sumo tournament. The President will have the opportunity to see some of the matches together with the Prime Minister. Thanks.
Q Hi, this is Jeff Mason with Reuters. Two follow-ups. One, can you say anything more about what’s expected to come in terms of trade? Will there will be an agreement this weekend, which had been reported at one point?
And secondly, regarding the sumo, can you give us any color about the Trump Cup and what the President plans to bring to that?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I missed the last part of your question you said about sumo. Could you repeat that?
Q The first question was about trade. Do you expect to have an agreement? And the second one was about what he’s bringing to the sumo wrestling match.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Right. Okay. You know, on trade, our trade and investment relations with Japan have, really, never been stronger. And the President intends to promote bilateral, free, and fair trade. It’s something he’s been doing consistently in his meetings with the Japanese.
I don’t think that the purpose of this trip is to focus on trade. It’s really to be state guests of Their Majesties. And that’s really the heart of the visit. It’s a celebration of their new roles and this new era that’s been kicked off — the Reiwa era — and a chance to celebrate the alliance.
And I don’t have any details for you on other aspects of the sumo match at the moment.
Q Hey, this is Ashley Parker from The Washington Post. It sounds like this trip, as you’ve described it, and what we’ve heard from others, is sort of more ceremonial than substantive and policy oriented. So considering the President is heading back to Japan for the G20 in just about a month, can you sort of explain the White House and the President’s thinking behind why he accepted this trip and what he hopes to get out of it?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah. I don’t want to give the impression that it won’t be substantive. It’s going to cover quite a broad range of topics in the relationship. There will be some substantive things to announce. So there will be ceremony but there will also be substance in this visit.
And remember, this is the second time that President Trump has met with Prime Minister Abe in the space of a month. He’ll be visiting again, as you mentioned — he’ll be going to Osaka, for the G20, in late June.
So three visits in both directions in a short amount of time is really emblematic of just how close the relationship is. I mean, President Trump and Prime Minister Abe have met or spoken more than 40 times since President Trump was elected. That is absolutely unprecedented in terms of just of the frequency and substance of all of their interactions.
Prime Minister Abe, you’ll remember, he was the first world leader to meet with President Trump. And now President Trump is going to be the first world leader to meet with the new emperor. So they’ll have plenty of substance to discuss and some things to announce as well.
All of the geopolitical indicators are present…. and it is important to remember that historic trilateral Buenos Aires summit between President Trump, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and India’s Prime Minister Modi.
Taken in totality with the November 2017 “Golden Ticket” tour of Asia, it looks like President Trump structured two facets of the Indo-Pacific alliance, as far back as 2017, to be a hedge against China.
It appears that President Trump started his administration with a plan for a broad alliance of ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) to replace the U.S. economic engagement with China. More specifically, it appears to me that President Trump is using Japan as the fulcrum, and repaying Shinzo Abe by working with Modi (India) to open up the India economy.
There’s a similar precedent for this. Historically, think about how the U.S. helped Canada by using the scale of the U.S. economy to open trade doors, and then leveraging the engaged country to also permit Canadian benefit (entry).
It looks like President Trump is using the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific alliance as the hedge against China. Japan is key for this to work; and then Trump repays Japan by opening up the U.S. for India exports, and in turn India opens for Japanese imports.
♦Economic security is national security. ♦The KORUS (South Korea-U.S.) trade deal was already reached last year. ♦Japan essentially controls the TPP group. ♦A new trilateral alliance resets global supply chains (disrupting One Belt/One Road); and yet retains the value of regional manufacturing (Vietnam, Philippines, S-Korea, etc).
If my spidey-sense is correct, Shinzo Abe will be very open to Trump’s unilateral trade requests (perhaps Monday announcement) because Abe sees an enlarging Japanese GDP through new accessibility to India. It’s a win-win-win.
Trump opens up for India (Indo-Pacific).
India opens up for Japan (Indo-Pacficic).
Japan increases investment in U.S.A. [(U.S-Japan trade agreement); and with new focus on national security, an expanded Japanese GDP permits security purchases from U.S.A.]
President Trump and U.S. Attorney General William Barr participate in the 2019 Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor ceremony at the White House. [Video and Transcript]
[Transcript] East Room – 3:25pm EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Mr. Attorney General. That’s great. Appreciate it.
I welcome everyone to the White House — a very special place — as we award our very bravest law enforcement officers and firefighters our nation’s highest public safety award: the Medal of Valor. Congratulations. It’s a great award. (Applause.)
Also joining us for the ceremony is Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. Jeff. And congratulations. (Applause.) Along with a friend of mine — a great senator — Rob Portman. Rob, thank you. (Applause.) And Representative — and one of the best hockey players you’ll ever see — Pete Stauber. Pete, thank you very much. (Applause.)
To the heroes we honor today: This afternoon, we express the gratitude and pride of our nation for your immortal acts of courage.
To the families who join us: You carry a great burden so that our citizens can live in safety and in peace. We cherish and thank each and every one of you.
Here with us today is Trooper Nicholas Cederberg from Oregon State Police. Where is Nicholas? Good. That’s what I thought. On Christmas night of 2016, Nic was with his family when he got a call that a man in the nearby neighborhood of King City had shot and killed a woman and was now speeding through the city streets very dangerously. Nic raced to find him, and soon located the murderer and chased him into a dead-end road. The suspect made a U-turn, rammed right into Nic’s car, and then immediately opened fire.
Nic thought he had it, but he didn’t, because Nic was shot in the hip — very badly injured. He laid on the ground. Amid a barrage of gunfire, he kept firing back, preventing the shooter from escaping until other officers arrived.
That Christmas night, Nic took 12 bullets. After a very tough recovery, Nic survived. And, Trooper Cederberg, we are very honored to have you with us in the White House. Thank you very much. Great job. (Applause.) He looks awfully good. Twelve bullets. He looks good if he took no bullets, you know? (Laughter.) Some pretty good doctors, I guess. Right?
TROOPER CEDERBERG: I had good doctors.
THE PRESIDENT: Great job.
Also with us today is Officer Alan Horujko of the Ohio State University Police. On November 28, 2016, an ISIS-inspired terrorist sped into a crowd of students at Ohio State. I remember that. He then got out of his car and chased them with a knife.
Alan ran to the scene and yelled at the man to drop his knife. The man charged toward Alan after doing a lot of damage to others, but Alan shot him and killed him immediately. Thanks to Alan’s swift action, not a single innocent person that day died. Some very badly injured people, however. Officer Horujko, we are forever grateful. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. Great.
This afternoon, we also honor two incredible firefighters: Captain Dustin Moore and Firefighter Andrew Freisner of the Lenexa Fire Department in Kansas. In April of 2016, Dustin and Andrew responded to an apartment fire, where they learned that a family was trapped on the second floor. It was looking very bad.
Dustin and Andrew climbed up a ladder to the balcony of the apartment and raced into a blinding hail of smoke and deadly heat. They found a woman who was unconscious and two small children, and carried them all to safety. Captain Moore and Firefighter Freisner, you made a tremendous difference and you make all Americans proud. It was a great job. Thank you very much. Great job. (Applause.) You saved those lives.
Today, we also recognize eight law enforcement officers from Azusa, California: Tommy Avila, Manuel Campos, Seth Chapman, Carlos Plascencia — I didn’t get that great, Carlos, but not bad. (Laughter.) Where is Carlos? I owe you one. (Laughter.) Andrew Rodriguez, Terry Smith, Xavier Torres, and Rocky Wenrick. Thank you, fellas, that’s fantastic. (Applause.) Fantastic.
These officers responded to a call of a crazed man firing at citizens near a voting site on November 8th, 2016. When they arrived, Carlos and Xavier raced through a hail of bullets to save a woman who had been shot in the head. At the same time, Terry, Andrew, and Seth returned fire. Tommy, Rocky, and Manuel drew the gunman out of his house, enabling their fellow officers to shoot him and bring the rampage to an end. A very dangerous situation.
To each of you: You represent the unity, devotion, teamwork, and swift action that makes America’s law enforcement the best and bravest anywhere in the world. Well done. And I want to thank you all for being here. Thank you very much. Thank you. (Applause.)
And earlier today, in a private ceremony, I was profoundly honored to present the Medal of Valor to the families of two fallen officers who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty: Sergeant Verdell Smith and Officer Brent Thompson.
Sergeant Smith was a member of the Memphis Police Department. In June 2016, a gunman was speeding toward a busy intersection downtown. As Sergeant Smith cleared the street, the attacker struck and fatally injured Sergeant Smith.
I want to just thank Sergeant Smith’s family. Where are you? We just left — where are you, Sergeant Smith’s family? Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
On July 7, 2016, Dallas Police Officer Brent Thompson was on duty during a large protest against law enforcement that soon turned violent when a gunman opened fire on the police. Brent charged across the three-lane road and fired on the shooter. Brent was killed instantly in the firefight, but his act of courage saved many lives. Many, many lives.
An attack on our police is an attack upon our entire nation. Through their sacrifice, Sergeant Smith and Officer Thompson defeated evil men with the goodness and bravery of true American heroes. We are eternally grateful in their debt. Thank you very much. It’s really great.
Every officer, firefighter, and first responder who receives this award embodies the highest ideals of service and sacrifice, character and courage, love and loyalty. Your lives of patriotism, your devotion to duty, and your deeds of valor lift up our entire nation.
Today and every day, we thank God that you were there when our communities needed you the most. And we want to thank you all. And God bless you, God bless law enforcement, and God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you.
So now I’d like to ask the military aide to come forward and read the citations as I present these incredible and very brave recipients with the Medal of Valor. Thank you.
MILITARY AIDE: Senior Trooper Nicholas Cederberg.
The Medal of Valor is presented to Senior Trooper Nicholas Cederberg of the Oregon State Police for taking brave and decisive action to bring a murderer to justice on Christmas night, 2016. After an extended vehicle chase, Senior Trooper Cederberg prevented the escape of the killer, placing himself directly in the line of fire and sustaining several life-threatening gunshot wounds.
(The Medal of Valor is presented.) (Applause.)
University Law Enforcement Officer Alan Horujko of the Ohio State University Police Division.
The Medal of Valor is presented to University Law Enforcement Officer Alan Horujko of the Ohio State University Police Division for singlehandedly saving the lives of more than a dozen civilians on the Ohio State University Campus by quickly and skillfully neutralizing a violent knife attacker who had plowed his vehicle into a crowd.
(The Medal of Valor is presented.) (Applause.)
Fire Captain Dustin Moore and Firefighter Paramedic Andrew Freisner.
The Medal of Valor is presented to Fire Captain Dustin Moore and Firefighter Paramedic Andrew Freisner of the Lenexa, Kansas, Fire Department for braving a furious fire and billowing smoke, at great personal risk, to rescue the occupants of a burning apartment building who were within minutes of perishing from the flames.
(The Medal of Valor is presented.) (Applause.)
Retired Lieutenant Xavier Torres, Sergeant Seth Chapman, Retired Sergeant Terry Smith Jr., Sergeant Thomas Avila III, Sergeant Rocky Wenrick, Retired Corporal Andrew Rodriguez Sr., Senior Officer Carlos Plascencia, and Detective Manuel Campos.
The Medal of Valor is presented to these men for acting with composure and bravery in the face of life-threatening danger during a mass shooting on Election Day, 2016. These courageous officers arrived at the deadly and chaotic scene in Azusa, California, and immediately took command, risking their lives to protect innocent civilians and successfully neutralizing the killer.
(The Medal of Valor is presented.) (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: These are tremendous people. I want to just congratulate everybody. It’s an amazing honor to have you in the White House. Say hello to your families, and thank you all for being here. Thank you very much. Congratulations.
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Centinel2012 