National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow has been doing a great job in his role as an economic cheerleader and sounding board for President Trump on COVID mitigation. In this interview Kudlow discusses a ‘potential’ phase-4 stimulus package targeted to offset very specific sectors at risk from continued COVID-19 closures.

Additionally, Kudlow notes there could be financial incentives, offsets to expenses, to help schools re-open this fall in the event COVID mitigation creates higher costs. Lastly, Kudlow again notes that China is in a precarious position from the outlook of the White House.

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It sure seems this COVID economic battle is more psychological than anything else. The media is pushing the fear narrative hard… very hard.

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President Trump holds an interview with Fox Business News’ Blake Burman. The president hits on a variety of current headlines including ongoing COVID-19 mitigation, a potential fourth round of stimulus, the nonsensical Russia conspiracy nonsense and the 2020 election campaign.

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During an interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross notes that companies with headquarters in Hong Kong are likely to rethink those offices with China now taking control under Beijing’s sweeping new security law.

This is a significant statement and underpins the U.S. strategy that is dismantling the Chinese influence on global trade and manufacturing.  As Secretary Ross noted: “I believe that there’s a good chance that all companies who have Hong Kong as their headquarters for Asia will begin rethink whether the new rules – the new relationship between Hong Kong and mainland China – whether those rules let Hong Kong be as favorable a place to have headquarters as it used to be.”  WATCH (listen closely):

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There is a deliberate and blunt focus in the statements by Ross that will have a significant impact.  Globally the world needs to accept the future of Hong Kong as a communist state, and disavow the notion of any semblance of an autonomous region.  Secretary Ross just threw a bucket of cold water in the face of those who refuse to accept the reality as it exists.

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Lou Dobbs had an interview with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tonight discussing why the FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats.

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~ Why We Must Re-Elect President Trump ~

Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally designated Chinese’s Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp as posing as posing national security threats to the United States. This designation and declaration blocks U.S. firms from tapping an $8.3 billion government fund to purchase equipment from either company.

(Source pdf)

This is an important step toward eliminating Huawei 5G data risks within U.S. telecommunication networks.  Additionally, the designation will have the forward impact of restricting U.S. allies from linking networks if they use Huawei/ZTE components.

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In a statement earlier today, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced the U.S. is revoking the special trade status of Hong Kong in response to escalating encroachment by China in violation of the prior agreement for autonomy.

It is a challenging status to modify because the administration does not want to reduce the ability of Hong Kong to operate as an autonomous economic region.  However, at the same time Beijing is taking control of all systems within Hong Kong and as such policies must be adjusted.  It would be an exercise in futility to expect China to retreat.

~ Tom Cotton Summarizes The Stakes of 2020 ~

What Senator Tom Cotton discusses in this interview is essentially what’s at stake in the 2020 election; and as an extension why radical leftists, democrats, media and Wall Street are united against their ‘America First’ enemy, Donald Trump.  There are trillions at stake.

The Chinese Communist Party influence over Wall Street and U.S. multinationals is very well known.  The CCP influence over Big Tech, and U.S. tech labs is starting to become more widely known; along with revelations about CCP influence inside major universities.

The Trump administration have direct policy positions to counteract each of these CCP influences; however, CCP financial beneficiaries from Hollywood to sports and pop-culture, to universities and ultimately U.S. politicians, do not want to lose affluence.

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Behind a great deal of the visible resist Trump movement (whether financial or ideological) is a CCP dragon wearing a panda mask and writing big checks to keep the resistance operations strong.

What better laundry operation could exist to benefit the CCP than Black Lives Matter? Beijing can ship funds to BLM in a myriad of ways, and that money is then transferred –via Act Blue– into the coffers of those political voices supporting Joe Biden’s campaign.

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In the economic balancing act toward China Larry Kudlow represents the good cop, Peter Navarro represents the bad cop and President Trump navigates the market responses.  Neither person is factually in conflict with the other; the nuance is in the expression and each person has a role to play.  Sometimes teeth, sometimes not. It depends on need.

Last night trade advisor Peter Navarro noted the U.S. position with China and trade is still in a state of serious conflict.  This is accurate, and a more confrontational posture has been expressed by President Trump.  Today Larry Kudlow moderates the Navarro position to lessen the Wall St. concern over a looming decoupling.  It’s all a dance.

The need for nuance becomes clear as we watch Stuart Varney pushing the Wall Street concern angle on behalf of U.S. multinationals. The administration does not want to spook the stock market while they deal with a China confrontation. WATCH:

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Kudlow represents the panda mask. Navarro represents the eagles claw. President Trump advances or retracts each position as he controls the market response.  The objective is a slow, steady, smiling decoupling that doesn’t unnerve anyone… but the direction is always toward the decoupling.

President Trump is delivering the proverbial economic death by a thousand paper cuts.

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White House Trade Policy Advisor Peter Navarro outlines what many CTH readers are aware of.  John Bolton begged for the job and enlisted Sean Hannity and Mark Levin to get advanced recommendations.  That’s how he got in. However, as National Security Advisor John Bolton never understood the President Trump doctrine, using economics to achieve national security objectives.  Underline it, highlight it, that’s the primary issue.

In this interview Navarro goes full wolverine on Bolton, and deservedly so.  What Navarro outlines is the truthful reality.  You can tell because it aligns at every level with what we watched every day while John Bolton was in the administration. God bless Navarro for truthfully calling the baby ugly.  WATCH:

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John Bolton felt unimportant in the world of geopolitics because President Trump relied on the economic team of Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary Ross, USTR Lighthizer and Trade Advisor Peter Navarro to achieve national security objectives.

Bolton was the knuckledragger at the end of the table, useful as leverage, where Trump could point to him and say lets make a deal to keep the warmongers like this guy out of the picture. Bolton’s biggest problem was with that Trump doctrine.

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Apparently excerpts from former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s dossier have been released to the media.  The Bolton dossier makes some of the most outlandish claims imaginable; and only the most incredibly silly media would ever believe them.  So yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening.

One example within the Bolton Dossier comes from John Bolton himself as he wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal.  Before citing the Bolton article it’s worth remembering CTH was following every detail of the Osaka G20 meeting closely. We took notes on every background and foreground contact and meeting, because the U.S-China Osaka meeting was at a very critical juncture.   [My favorite picture from Osaka, Japan]

Bolton puts this goofball framework to the Osaka, Japan, G20:

(Wall Street Journal) […] In their meeting in Osaka on June 29, Xi told Trump that the U.S.-China relationship was the most important in the world. He said that some (unnamed) American political figures were making erroneous judgments by calling for a new cold war with China.

Whether Xi meant to finger the Democrats or some of us sitting on the U.S. side of the table, I don’t know, but Trump immediately assumed that Xi meant the Democrats.

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