As we have all learned in the past week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney manufactured an oppositional narrative to the U.S-Canada trade deal in order to say no. Today, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave specifics about the last-minute Canadian demands that blew up the trade agreement.

Secretary Lutnick has a long-standing relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney and during the negotiations he talked at length to both Canada’s primary trade negotiator, Dominick LeBlanc as well as Prime Minister Carney. Lutnick notes the issues Carney claimed were too much for Canada to agree to were entirely manufactured at the last minute in order to say no.

At no point was the French language ever mentioned in the trade discussions. At no time was the trade sector that involves U.S. tariffs against heavy-duty trucks and semi tractor trailers ever mentioned, until Friday at 4:00pm when Carney brought up that issue. The agreement was outlined and agreed by all parties prior to Friday; Howard Lutnick speaking twice to Prime Minister Carney personally. There was no issue until the last minute when Canada chose to make issues.

As Lutnick notes, this is all political on the Canadian side. Prime Minister Carney needed domestic political leverage to manipulate his constituents. This is worth watching:

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The full presser is below that covers other topics including the Kennedy Center.  In the longer video the Canada issue comes up at 18:38.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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This video from the Promethean Action PAC wraps in a few background details that most readers and followers of the U.S-Canada trade relationship will likely find interesting.

Susan Kokinda argues the dispute is larger than USMCA negotiations, portraying Canada as an “outlaw” that enables transshipment “smuggling,” fails to enforce forced-labor bans, and facilitates “snow-washing” through weak corporate transparency and money laundering documented in British Columbia’s Cullen Commission.

She contrasts U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s pro-development case for oil and gas as civilizational progress with Canadian Minister Mélanie Joly’s Chatham House speech promoting “geo-industrialization” and a Mark Carney-aligned “middle powers” strategy against U.S. and China “hegemons.” Kokinda highlights a House of Commons petition led by Green Party leader Elizabeth May to declare U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra persona non grata, and notes Joly’s outreach to U.S. lawmakers and cities during the trade fight.  WATCH:

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Earlier today following a meeting in Washington, D.C., between Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, both representatives delivered remarks to reporters.  There are no details provided, however, within his remarks, Greer says he is confident that a deal has been reached as they work to finalize the details.

USTR Greer notes the significant trade barriers between the U.S. and Canada appear to have been resolved. However, the devil is going to be in the details.  Greer noted they are putting together the documentation that will allow him to brief President Trump and congress on the proposals.  “While we certainly have eliminated some of the irritants we have had over the past several years, we are also taking a strong foot forward,” Greer remarked. WATCH:  

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Given the antagonistic nature of Canada and their dependency on retaining an assembly economy with access to the U.S. market, it will be interesting to see what non-tariff barrier positions the Canadian government is willing to put forth.

There is a lot of optimism in media surrounding the tariff pause and the remarks that have followed; but I would caution interested parties to be aware of the scale of the divide between the two sides.

President Trump’s remarks from today about the Canada-U.S. trade position are below.

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The timing of these events is remarkable. Almost so remarkable that one might think they are intentionally sequenced.

It started yesterday when the very popular former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov issued a striking warning about Ukraine’s government, corruption, and the need to develop an immediate mechanism for elections even while the war against Russia continues.

There is a great deal of support for Mykhailo Fedorov within Ukraine, as many people see him as a stronger and yet more pragmatic representative of the people.  Fedorov holds strongest support from those under 50 years old, and yesterday he diplomatically called for Ukraine to organize elections in order to retain position as a democracy.

VIA CBS – The former defense minister acknowledged the difficulties of holding a vote during the war, including how to ensure soldiers, people who live near the front line and Ukrainians who fled the war can cast their ballots.  “This is complex. … But complexity does not mean impossibility,” Fedorov said. (Citation)

In the background, the frustration of the Ukrainian people is bubbling up to the surface. In part because the hunters the Zelenskyy regime has hired to go find conscripts are now seen as living a life of indulgence.  The conscript hunters who take the men off the streets are earning $150k targeting their own people for forced military service. The people are furious.

Simultaneous to this public statement about elections released by Fedorov, the anti-corruptions agencies in Ukraine announced investigations directly related to Zelenskyy’s government itself.  It looks like Fedorov knew this was coming.

UKRAINE – Ukraine’s ⁠anti-graft agencies ​said on Wednesday ​they had uncovered a group including a presidential official ​that ‌had laundered ⁠150 million hryvnias ($3.35 ‌million) used to pay for bail ⁠in an energy corruption scheme.

Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies launched a ​special operation against lawmakers and presidential advisers on Wednesday, hours before a key vote in parliament for a new defence ​minister ‌aimed at cementing a shake-up by President ⁠Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Earlier today, President Trump took the media on a tour of current White House renovations and repairs.

President Trump spoke at length about each aspect of the renovation and repair that is underway, giving specifics about the standards, measurements and systems that are being used in the process.  You can tell President Trump is a builder and expert on the subject of construction. This really is quite fascinating to watch.  WATCH:

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I’m sure she is a very nice person.  Mrs Graham likely has all the best intents and inclinations.  However, unfortunately I have strong reservations that Republicans can hold that South Carolina senate seat if Darline Graham goes into a general election against a Democrat candidate.

The special election debate between Darline Graham and Ralph Norman was tonight hosted by Newsmax.  The full debate is below the fold, but here’s a sample that might be awkward to watch.

Mrs. Darline Graham is currently serving in office as the appointed Republican Senator from South Carolina.

Full debate below:

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