I am fielding a lot of questions about President Trump’s direct announcement today to place a 50% tariff on autos from Canada contrast against the USMCA (CUSMA) and other trade matters.

First, for President Trump this is not political; it’s pure economics.  Donald Trump has been talking about this issue for 40+ years. Trump has held the same position about American manufacturing and exploitation of U.S. industrial jobs long before he officially became a politician.  President Trump is not looking at the politics of the matter, nor does the midterm election play a part of the consideration.

This is the economics of the thing, politics be damned, and the Canadian politicians have no concept of how structurally important this is to Donald Trump personally.  For Canada it’s political, for Trump it’s business – deliberate, direct and consequential business.  There are trillions at stake.

VIA TRUTH SOCIAL – “Canada has been ripping off the United States of America for years. Their ridiculously high tariffs on our Farmers and farm products has made life impossible for these great American Patriots, and has long created a 60 Billion Dollar Deficit between our two Countries. Not sustainable, and NOT ANYMORE! On January First, 2027, Tariffs on all Cars, Trucks, both large and small, Automotive Parts, and Steel, will be increased to 50%. Build in the U.S. and there are ZERO TARIFFS. Canada will be treated like a State no longer! On Trade, and in other ways, also, they are among the worst Nations in the World to deal with. They feel entitled, and yet, WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US! They do 95% of their business with the U.S., with us, the exact opposite! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

The second aspect to the inbound questions center around the USMCA (CUSMA) and anticipated legal challenges to the 50% tariffs in violation of the USMCA trade agreement.  Those questions are coming from people who don’t understand the first point above, in combination with what we have outlined for years, President Trump does not want the multilateral USMCA to remain.  Trump has been very direct about this.

As to the legality of the matter. If you accept the USMCA is not valued as a reciprocal trade tool by the U.S. administration, then you set yourself up to understand there are two options available.

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As most would anticipate, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the request for a Ukraine election made by former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Zelenskyy noted that Fedorov himself might challenge the ‘new democracy‘ regime of Zelenskyy, and therefore the risks are too great.

(via Politico) – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday flatly rejected a call by his former defense chief to send the country to the ballot box.

“I believe that during a war like this, elections in general pose major risks,” Zelenskyy told journalists — including POLITICO — behind closed doors.

A vote “right now would be a tsunami for the state, one that would divide Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president said. He added that his strategy is “to bring the country to the end of the war and preserve an independent and sovereign state.”

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Tonight, President Donald Trump will appear at a rally in South Carolina to support the special election candidacy of Darline Graham.  The anticipated start time of President Trump’s speech is 7:00pm ET with livestream links below.

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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, 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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Florida, Wyoming and Alaska all hold primary elections today with most of the interest focused on a few races in each state.

For the Florida Republican primary for Governor, candidate Byron Donalds easily wins the GOP contest.  Donalds will now face Democrat David Jolly in the general election.

[SOURCE] 

Alexander S. Vindman, the legend in his own mind and retired Army lieutenant colonel who operated as a false witness to help the CIA manufacture President Trump’s first impeachment trial, lost to DSA Communist State Representative Angie Nixon for Florida’s Democratic nomination for Senate.  Nixon will now face Republican Ashley Moody in the general election.

WYOMING – In Wyoming, Representative Harriet M. Hageman, also running with President Trump’s endorsement, is likely to win the Republican Senate primary to replace Cynthia Lummis, who is retiring.

ALASKA – In the state that likes to play games with their elections, Alaska Senator Dan S. Sullivan, a Republican, faces former Democrat Representative Mary Peltola in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the midterms. A crowd of candidates including another inserted candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, are trying to split the votes with name games.  The top four vote-winners will advance in this hot mess of a system.

Election Results Here and HERE

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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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Representative Jim Jordan appears on Fox News to discuss the recently declassified and released information that highlights ongoing corruption within the FBI.

As noted by Jordan, within the documents the FBI continued operations to interfere in U.S. elections beyond 2016 into 2020 and 2024.  WATCH:

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Top Men!

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The South Carolina Senate race between Darline Graham and Ralph Norman will be very interesting to watch as the runoff date arrives soon, August 25th.

Darline Graham is supported by President Trump, the NRSCC, the professional republican class and the new endorsement from the 3rd place candidate Russell Fry.  Additionally, Darline Graham has been endorsed by Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Tim Scott and other very well-known Republican brand names.

Mrs Graham has also picked up a $1 million Super-PAC donation from the leftist “Invest in Tomorrow Coalition” a clean energy and climate change advocacy group.  They will be running ads against Ralph Norman.

That said, CTH has a strong hunch that Ralph Norman is going to win.  There’s an internal poll showing Norman with a 12-point advantage (52/40); however, that’s not the strongest indicator.

A very unscientific review of voter sentiment visible on social media reflects a profound rejection of the Lindsey Graham legacy vote.  While it is entirely possible those voices are just more algorithmically visible than Darline Graham supporters, there sure are a lot of South Carolina republican voters willing to support Ralph Norman over Graham.

It’s weird because no one seems overly enthusiastic for either candidate but voting Norman over Graham appears to be the least bad option.  Darline Graham’s record working for leftist NGOs has many people rejecting her as an option.

What are your thoughts?

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