President Trump holds an almost two-hour cabinet meeting in front of the media where he and other cabinet secretaries take questions from the assembled press pool in the cabinet room.  Full video below. WATCH:

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I’ll put the entire cabinet meeting in another post.  It is interesting that RFK Jr. was not present (?).

For this outline, let’s focus on the issue that is exploding the MAGA and anti-MAGA universe on social media right now. President Trump and Pam Bondi’s response to a question about Jeffrey Epstein and the controversial DOJ/FBI memo that now states there is no “third party” or “client list” connected to the Epstein sex trafficking.

Obviously, President Trump is not happy with attention focused on the Epstein issues.  The most likely reason for the frustration expressed is simply that President Trump is unaware how much the Epstein issues are -and have been- part of the background focus within the base of his support.  Here’s the segment. WATCH:

First, kudos to Marco Rubio for his stone faced and remarkably unaffected disposition within the exchange.  It takes time and experience to remain stoic at this level.  Exceptional control.

Second, everyone here has a reasonable BS detector – meaning we can tell when a person is not telling the truth.  It is transparently obvious AG Pam Bondi is extremely uncomfortable with the Epstein issue, and her responses indicate she is not being honest or forthright.  You could say, she’s lying; however, the facts of her presentation are a little more complicated.

The main issue around Bondi’s less-than-fulsome response is the motive.  Is she lying because she’s just grossly incompetent about the issue, or is she lying because she is nefarious in her intent.  The Occam’s Razor answer to her obvious parseltongue is a combination of both.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference after meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.  As Netanyahu remarked, “President Trump’s decision to act with us …. has made a remarkable change in the Middle East.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu also emphasized the need to “change the government of Gaza” as part of the current objective within the conflict.  Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized repeatedly that President Trump and himself are connected in common purpose. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, the government of the USA and the government of Israel have never been as deeply intertwined as they are at this moment in history.  WATCH:

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Pay close attention to the tone and emphasis of the remarks from Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as the content.  For Netanyahu there is a domestic political need to stay as close to President Trump as humanly possible, and he is showcasing that intent in every word and inflection.  Netanyahu’s power is directly related to his proximity to Trump.

Benjamin Netanyahu fears distance from President Trump more than any element around him.  Remember, the need for control is a reaction to fear.  Netanyahu will do anything to keep close proximity.

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The Term-1 effect of deflation created by tariff policy is resurfacing in Term-2 even with larger tariff impacts across the network of global manufacturing exports. [DATA SOURCE]

In essence, there is little to no end result in price increases in the final price of consumer goods (Consumer Price Index). In fact, there is a slight deflationary aspect on CPI data from imported durable goods.  The lower price of arriving imported durable goods is effectively putting downward pressure on US consumer prices.   This is identical to the Term-1 result. A pattern is repeating.   [PCE personal consumption expenditure / CPI consumer price index]

[Source – WH Council of Economic Advisors]

It sounds counterintuitive, but tariffs do not impact the final price of goods to USA consumers; there are just too many factors, too many elements within the Total Cost of Goods (TCG) within supply chain.  Global energy prices, domestic energy prices, currency evaluations and fluctuations, state/govt subsidies to manufacturers, labor negotiations and production profit offsets are only a few of the components.

Additionally, and this is where U.S. consumers do not get a fulsome explanation from corporate media analysts, the tariff rate is applied to the ‘cost’ the exporter pays, not the final consumer price.  A pair of jeans from China may be sold to the import company for $5 per pair. A 30% tariff raises the price of the jeans by $1.50 to $6.50.  The tariff rate does not apply to the retail price of $50 paid by the consumer.

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President Trump hosts a dinner with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the delegation from Israel.  During his remarks, Prime Minister Netanyahu says he nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and provides him with a copy of the nomination letter.

The USA side of the table consisted of Mike Huckabee (Ambassador to Israel), John Ratcliffe (CIA Director), Pete Hegseth (Defense Sec) – [TRUMP] – Marco Rubio (State/NSA), Susie Wiles (Trump handler) and Steve Witkoff (emissary).

The closer and tighter Trump hugs, the more strategic his mind is operating.

Sara Netanyahu is there, at dinner. Melania Trump is not.

Benjamin Netanyahu is in the weakest geopolitical position of his career.

Trump is soothing the fears behind Bibi’s nervousness.  Remarkable to watch.

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President Donald Trump has begun posting the country specific tariff rate announcements on his Truth Social account.

Beginning with Japan and South Korea, President Trump is sending letters to each nation not currently in direct negotiations with the USA.  Japan example below:

Both Japan and South Korea are assigned 25% baseline tariff rates “separate from all Sectoral Tariffs.”  Additionally, if the nation participates in transnational shipping, the rate attempting to be avoided will be applied to the country violating the trade position.

Example:  South Korea (25%) acts as a passthrough for a country with a higher tariff rate like Vietnam, 40%.  If South Korea is caught engaging in transnational shipping then the applied tariff rate on the South Korean goods is 40%.

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White House Trade and Manufacturing Advisor Peter Navarro talks about how the Fed monetary position is lagging with the intent of Trump’s MAGAnomic policy.  In the short review, Chairman Jerome Powell is approximately 0.50% in rate cuts behind the growth plan of President Trump.

Peter Navarro notes this disconnect is politically motivated when viewed through the window of hindsight.  Navarro is correct.   CTH has been outlining this economic policy and monetary policy disconnect, specifically as it pertains to President Trump’s Main Street focused agenda, for almost a decade {GO DEEP}.

Additionally, in many ways the Trump tariffs are the reverse of decades of ‘exfiltration’ of American wealth. Just as there was a shift when the value of the Wall Street economy surpassed the value of the U.S. Main Street economy, the politicians began responding to their new donors, so too is the Fed reluctant in reverse focus and advance the agenda of Main Street.  WATCH:

Here’s the key – The DC challenges are not overwhelming when you take a non-traditional approach toward finding solutions.

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Appearing on CNBC to explain the big picture economics, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines how debt and deficit hawks are seemingly blind to the need for GDP growth to deal with federal spending.

From the outset of President Trump’s MAGAnomic policies in his T-1 and T-2 platform, growing the U.S. economy, expanding the size of the GDP is a key facet to dealing with debt and deficits.  President Trump has always promoted economic policy that expands the size of the pie rather than focus on making smaller portions of each spending slice.

Secretary Bessent also explains the current status of the tariffs as delivered by the Trump administration.  The next few days are exceptionally busy with incoming requests to renegotiate trade terms, and avoid countervailing duties.  WATCH:

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Big picture:  Trump, Lutnick and Greer are now transmitting 1. Baseline tariffs (10-20%), 2. Reciprocity tariffs (trade imbalance) and 3. Section 232 tariffs (ex. Steel and Aluminum).  Countries are notified and their tariff rate begins on August 1st.

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President Trump responds to Elon Musk’s ongoing outrage.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The System seems not designed for them.

The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running “machine,” that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country.

It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning. People are now allowed to buy whatever they want – Gasoline Powered, Hybrids (which are doing very well), or New Technologies as they come about – No more EV Mandate. I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate – It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that – I was very surprised!

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President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hold an impromptu press conference before departing Bedminster, New Jersey en route to the White House.

Topics included the devastating flood in Texas, Elon Musk creating a third party, the ongoing trade negotiations and pending tariffs, President Trump’s conversations with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as the upcoming visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on Monday.

As noted by Secretary Lutnick the new tariff rates go into effect August 1st.  WATCH:

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