There is enough plausible deniability built into the framework of what is anticipated to be a MAGA rally by President Trump in South Carolina in support of Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham, the sister of Lindsey Graham.

The first indication surfaced in a cancellation announcement by the South Carolina state GOP which canceled its Senate Stump Stop in Anderson County, SC, in anticipation of Trump traveling to Myrtle Beach “on behalf of one of the runoff candidates.”

However, after the Washington Examiner published their article on Trump’s travel plan, the White House did not return a comment. [SOURCE] This may indicate the people around President Trump are noticing a looming likelihood that Darline Graham will not win the contest.  It would be an embarrassing defeat for President Trump to lose the contest after putting his endorsement behind Darline Graham-Nordone.

The oppositional media are paying close attention to the opportunity to undermine President Trump and now framing the contest as Nikki Haley vs Donald Trump because Ralph Norman previously supported Nikki Haley.

Ralph Norman and Darline Graham-Nordone are scheduled to debate tomorrow, August 18th on Newsmax.  The Trump rally with Mrs Graham-Nordone was presumably scheduled for Friday, August 21.  If Trump retreats from the rally, it means internal polling supports a Norman victory.

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On its face this seems like a rather remarkable statement from President Trump.  However, below the surface the geopolitical ramifications are perhaps not as surprising.

Today, President Trump notes the administration is shifting its position of military support toward South Korea.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful. Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!

While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, “No thanks!” Thank you for your attention to this matter.” – President DONALD J. TRUMP

Implied directly within the last paragraph was President Trump resetting the relationship based on South Korea’s unwillingness to support the U.S. goals toward Iran.

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The blue states and DC are desperately trying to avoid complying with a Dept of Homeland Security administrative subpoena for the records of their commercial driving license distribution.  In short, the blue states don’t want DHS or the American people to know how many illegal aliens are driving on CDLs.

Eastern District of Virginia Judge Anthony Trenga has just interceded to stop the states from forced compliance. Judge Trenga entered an administrative stay preventing DHS from obtaining roughly 17 million commercial driver’s license records it subpoenaed for immigration enforcement. [Read Administrative Stay Here]

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously issued subpoenas for approximately 17 million commercial driver’s license (CDL) records, which has led to a legal battle involving multiple Democratic run states.

A coalition of 22 blue states is now suing the DHS, claiming that the demand for this sensitive data is part of a broader effort to create a “nationwide surveillance system” and that the DHS lacks legal authority to access such records. The lawsuit argues that the data could jeopardize drivers’ privacy and violate federal privacy laws. {LAWSUIT HERE}

The states are seeking to block the DHS’s access to the records, which include personal information such as names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The coalition argues DHS has no legal authority to demand the truck drivers’ license records and would jeopardize drivers’ privacy if they receive them.

American citizens are not permitted to know who and how many illegal aliens are operating dangerous trucks on the roadways.  The privacy of the illegal aliens is paramount to the safety of the American citizen motorist.

Think about that for a few moments.

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The White House has filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking for an immediate administrative stay of the DC District Court injunction blocking construction of the Ballroom and Military complex [SEE FILING HERE].

The baseline argument is very solid on several grounds, including standing. A single complaint from a woman who walks by the White House once per month and holds the opinion of the complex as an eyesore is not standing to block the construction. Additionally, several agencies of the Executive Branch stand in support of the construction on presidential security, safety and national security grounds.

[SOURCE]

The structure extends five stories deep into the ground, and is built with hardened concrete, steel, and rebar; protective missile-resistant columns, roofs, and beams; drone proof ceilings and roofs; and bullet, ballistic, and blast-proof glass. … The Project includes bomb shelters, state-of-the-art hospital and medical facilities, protective partitioning between all areas of the building, top secret military structures and equipment, military-grade venting, a single integrated air conditioning and heating system, sniper nests, and a drone port on top, elevated by the structure of the ballroom, to protect the White House and surrounding region from aerial attacks — “one of the nation’s largest emerging threats.”

President Trump has shared additional attachments to the filing, via Truth Social:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “In my work with heads of state and foreign ministers, I am frequently hosted in reception facilities that are visually impressive and reflective of the wealth and beauty of the nations I am visiting. In the United States, by contrast, we currently lack the ability to hold large events of a similar magnitude on White House grounds for those same heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

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The White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing released an extensive report this week identifying the major nations who enable China to transship goods into the U.S market in an effort to avoid tariffs.  [REPORT HERE]

Within the report several nations and regions are identified as being used by Chinese manufacturers to avoid U.S. customs and duty enforcement mechanisms.  However, both Canada and Mexico are cited as primary enablers of the process.

[SOURCE HERE]

The issue strikes at the heart of the problem identified long ago with the NAFTA agreement, and the problem only worsens when the USMCA provisions on country of origin are not enforced.

When you remove oil and lumber, the majority of Canada’s manufactured exports to the USA contain Chinese component parts and this has been the source of much friction in the current trade negotiations.  The manufacturing supply chain within all free trade agreements only works when the source of component goods is accurately recorded.

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President Donald Trump held an event in Long Island, New York today to celebrate law enforcement and show his support for first responders.  WATCH:

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President Trump announces via Truth Social:

“Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect! Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections. Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty, and Freedom, since 2018, including our Historic Re-Election Campaign of 2024. Karoline has been one of the best White House Press Secretaries in the History of the Office. Thank you, Karoline, for a job well done!”

President DONALD J. TRUMP

Karoline Leavitt delivers the following statement via X:

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Mrs. Darline Graham, the sister of deceased Senator Lindsey Graham, has won the South Carolina Republican primary and will now head into a runoff against Ralph Norman on August 25th.

Ultimately it is up to the people of South Carolina to decide who they want to represent them in the Senate.  However, there is nothing to indicate that Mrs. Graham would be anything different than a southern version of Lisa Murkowski.

[SOURCE]

Legacy replacement candidates without prior experience are always a shot in the dark.  That said, the National Republican Senatorial Committee – the epicenter of creating candidates for election via Battered Conservative Syndrome – is now fully endorsing Graham and will put plenty of Chamber of Commerce money into her two-week campaign.

President Trump has endorsed Darline Graham.  President Trump has an emotional attachment to the legacy outcome and is understandably supporting Mrs Graham out of loyalty.  CTH tries to stay detached from the emotion of the issue and holds little confidence Graham would strongly support the issues of critical MAGA importance.

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Hopefully this will be a lesson to multiple people, including President Donald Trump.  There is no room for softness on the topic of deporting illegal aliens.

In one of the biggest examples of a mistake in Republican campaigning, three weeks before the primary election Minnesota Governor candidate Mike Lindell made the fatal mistake of advocating for greater leniency for illegal aliens, with inferred amnesty in his immigration platform.  The backlash was fierce, righteous and directly targeted.  Lindell was blasted.

Last night, despite the support and endorsement from President Trump, Lindell was resoundingly defeated by Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House.

[SOURCE]

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gets it.  When asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent notes that yes, things will likely never return to the way they were before; however, there is a distinction that must be applied.

Even if Iran completely acquiesced to all of the most stringent terms and conditions requested by President Trump, they will never again recapture the position they held with the Strait of Hormuz as a chokepoint.

Capital markets respond to risk in the medium and long term; risks are always mitigated.  With the Strait now identified as a strategic risk, the emphasis will be on forever neutralizing that risk and avoiding the issue in the future.  As a consequence, Iran’s strongest point of leverage is disappearing now and will continue to disappear.  WATCH (prompted):

As further explained by James Thorne on X: “By repeatedly signaling its willingness to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran hasn’t strengthened its hand, it has accelerated the market’s exit. Capital does not tolerate chokepoints; it routes around them.

Saudi Arabia is expanding its East-West pipeline. The UAE has already built out Fujairah as a bypass. Iraq is revisiting overland export corridors. Every marginal dollar now flows toward redundancy, not reliance. What was once a geopolitical lever is being engineered into irrelevance. Bessent gets it: markets don’t absorb coercion; they arbitrage it away.

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