Vice Presidential nominee Senator JD Vance, appears on Meet the Press for an argumentative debate on Trump policy.  On the issue of tariffs, this might have been JD Vance’s first opportunity to set the record straight about what tariffs did in the first Trump administration.

Unfortunately, because JD Vance did not have the data to refute the NBC talking points, he missed an opportunity to set the record straight.  Tariffs did not raise prices and consumers did not pay tariff rates in the first Trump administration.  Factually, the exact opposite happened.  Prices dropped when Trump tariffs were put into place, the reasons are explained after the interview. WATCH:  

Our own analysis of U.S. consumer prices in 2019 showed that prices of imported goods actually declined despite the tariffs. A recent report from CPA takes a look at the impact to Chinese exports to the U.S.  [SEE DATA HERE] Bottom line, the tariffs worked to reduce Chinese imports.

CPA – […] Since the Section 301 tariffs were imposed, the share of imports from China has steadily declined from 21.6% in 2017 the year prior to the tariffs to 16.5%, a decline of 5.1%. No other country has lost as much share of total U.S. import penetration over the past five years.

In terms of total import value, Mexico gained the most from the tariffs, adding $110.8 billion. Vietnam gained the second most in import value by $78.4 billion and by far gained the most of total share of U.S. imports. In 2017, Vietnam accounted for about 2% of U.S. imports at $46.5 billion. In 2022, the U.S. imported $127.5 billion in goods from Vietnam, and the share of the total nearly doubled to 3.9%. Other countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia all saw significant increases in their value of imports by the U.S. (read more)

With the 2024 election here, it is worth revisiting the actual tariff outcome to American consumers in order to dispel the popular myths about tariffs raising prices here at home.  This might be the cited data you want to bookmark for later reference.

It was the Fourth Quarter of 2019…..

(more…)

Robert F Kennedy appears on Fox News Sunday to talk about his endorsement of President Donald Trump.  RFK Jr said President Trump reached out to him several times before the independent candidate finally decided to talk to President Trump.

RFK Jr also confirms that he reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign in order to discuss the possibilities of forming an agreement with the Democrats before he decided to accept the relationship with President Trump.

The former candidate now says he will actively campaign with President Trump as the republican party begins promoting the support of other well known Democrats.  It is an interesting discussion, worthy of the time you might invest to understand the details of the RFK Jr dynamic.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

RFK JR delivered a short speech in Arizona, highlighting why it was both challenging and important for him to drop out of the race and support President Donald Trump.   The people closest to RFK Jr., are also impacted by his decision, and they have shared their opinion about it.

First, here is the transcript of the speech that RFK Jr gave to the enthusiastic audience.

[Transcript] – Thank you, President Trump. A few hours after the assassination attempt at Butler, I got a call from a safe food advocate named Calley Means, who’s been fighting for many years to try to end the corruption at the CDC, FDA, and USDA.

These institutions—these regulatory agencies—are actually run by the big food processing companies, the big ag, and the chemical companies that they’re supposed to regulate.

He said to me that he’d been advising me for many years and on my campaign. That night, he told me that he was also advising President Trump and asked if I would talk to President Trump. I said, “Of course.”

A few minutes later, I got a call from the President, and we talked. We had a very good conversation. Then he invited me to come see him the next day. I went to Minneapolis and saw him. We met again a couple of weeks later in Florida.

(more…)

Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai are genuinely brilliant tech programmers, mathematicians and entrepreneurs.  The Durov brothers founded the Telegram communication app in 2013.  Telegram now has 950 million active users who can send messages, photos and videos, take part in chats for groups of up to 200,000 people and broadcast to unlimited audiences.

Telegram is the preferred messaging and communication app for those concerned with privacy.  In my own travels, plans and purposeful interactions, I use Telegram frequently.  It is the best communication tool available, and the tech interface is brilliant. However, various government agencies hate Telegram because of the privacy it provides.

Pavel and Nikolai Durov are originally Russian; their app was created and tested deep inside the surveillance state.  The Russian government could not compromise it, and Pavel’s unwavering perspective on private communication has been thoroughly tested in subsequent years.  Telegram is a success because Pavel Durov has proven he is trustworthy.

Pavel Durov was just arrested by the French government for refusing to compromise on the user privacy of his app.

ReclaimTheNet – […] Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, was arrested this Saturday evening, according to French media.

The incident occurred at Le Bourget Airport just as Durov, accompanied by a bodyguard and a woman, disembarked from his private jet. Durov, who holds dual Franco-Russian citizenship and is 39 years old, had just arrived from Azerbaijan.

The arrest was executed by members of the GTA (Gendarmerie of Air Transport), acting on a French search warrant. This warrant, issued by the OFMIN of the national directorate of the French judicial police, was based on allegations that Telegram’s operational policies — specifically its lack of censorship and lack of cooperation with law enforcement’s censorship demands, along with features such as disposable phone numbers and cryptocurrency transactions — indirectly support illicit activities.

(more…)

Larry Kudlow delivered a monologue outlining his pragmatic and positive perspective on the Robert F Kennedy endorsement of President Trump.

Mr Kudlow sees a net positive from the RFK JR endorsement and is optimistic that support from a Kennedy can tilt a tight race.  WATCH:

.

It will be interesting to watch how the professional republicans in DC respond to the Kennedy endorsement.

From the Twitter: “I can’t tell whether it’s good or bad, but I firmly believe you have to be willing to play the cards your dealt. Maybe it was the Army, I dunno, but I can’t stand to sacrifice momentum for purity and perfection. You want that? Go to church. This is politics. It’s war. We fight with the team we’ve got, and that means sending the cynics, purists, and ideologues to the rear so the rest of us can get to work. Our objective now is to win, and that means taking what we’ve got and stepping off. If Donald Rumsfeld was right about anything, it’s that “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want.” The nerds, poets, and firebrands will have plenty of time to play games once the dust has settled. But right now, we need to win.”

(more…)

CTH has expressed our concerns previously.  I always hope to be wrong about intelligence community connected politicians.   That said, I shall be a good team player and hope/pray to be wrong about RFK JR.

Robert F Kennedy Jr is introduced by President Trump at a MAGA rally in Arizona.  According to RFK Jr earlier in the day, President Trump promised a position in the Trump administration.  From the remarks tonight, I suspect that position offered is FDA Commissioner.

During his introduction President Trump heaped effusive praise on Robert F Kennedy as the crowd chanted, “Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!”  It was quite an exciting moment in an auditorium filled with over 20,000 supporters. WATCH: 

.

(more…)

In between two rallies in Las Vegas and Arizona, President Trump stopped briefly to answer questions from the press pool about the endorsement from Robert F Kennedy Jr. President Trump mentioned it was a “great honor” to receive the endorsement and support from a very popular and influential democrat.

Additionally, President Trump was asked a question about the Secret Service suspensions following the assassination attempt against him. President Trump noted the unfortunate lack of USSS support that seemed to come from the Biden office.

President Trump has never hidden from the media and as typical answered all their (abortion, RFK JR, 2024 election) questions. WATCH:

.

(more…)

President Donald J. Trump will deliver remarks on the policy proposal for “No Tax on Tips” in Las Vegas, Nevada at 3:00 pm ET.  Livestream links below.

RSBN YouTube Livestream – RSBN Rumble Livestream – Trump Campaign Rumble Livestream

.

(more…)

Earlier today, President Trump discussed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County, Arizona. President Trump was asked if RFK Jr was going to endorse him, and how he would feel about it.  President Trump was also asked if he and RFK Jr were coordinating their appearance in Las Vegas. [VIDEO HERE]

Additionally, President Donald Trump told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley “we’re in danger” before being rushed away by Secret Service during an interview in Cochise County, Arizona. Right now, authorities in that county are searching for a man who allegedly threatened to kill the former president. Bradley reports daily from the southern border, where Trump held a news conference earlier Thursday. She spoke with Trump one-on-one about what he thinks of a possible RFK Jr. endorsement.

.

(more…)

President Donald Trump has a sit-down conversation with Theo Von at Trump’s country club in Bedminster, New Jersey to discuss reforming healthcare, border security, his friendship with Dana White and why he refrains from drinking and smoking.

Theo Von is a likeable young man who has casual conversations and a large podcast audience. The conversation with President Trump about addiction and the challenges around drugs and alcohol is very interesting and insightful. WATCH:

.

(more…)