I have watched it so many times and each time I have to pause it to stop laughing. When you consider everything in the lead up to this event, this really is the best press availability ever.
At 29:37 of the video below, President Trump is asked:
MEDIA: “Is there anything the Prime Minister can say to you today to change your mind on tariffing Canada?” … “Is there anything he can say to you, in the course of your meeting today, that could get you to lift tariffs on Canada?”
TRUMP: “No.”
MEDIA: “Why not?”
TRUMP: “Just the way it is.”
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The last five minutes are so funny, so brutally honest, so genuinely instructive of the baseline from which all of the future trade aspects will take place, that it just makes you laugh at the simplicity of the problem that Canada faces. “We don’t really want cars from Canada,” in reality we don’t want anything from Canada… lolol.
“Look, this is all friendly.” Carney is just sitting there, like a doofus.
I don’t want to say ‘I toldya so’, but…. Listen carefully to the answer to the first question at (05:00 minute mark) as President Trump responds to the question about the USMCA with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney next to him. The USMCA is “effective, and it’s still effective, but people have to follow it,” inferring the issues of Canada as a tool to avoid China tariffs, President Trump said.
Then comes the part everyone will overlook as President Trump notes, “as you know it terminates fairly shortly. It gets renegotiated fairly shortly.” Then comes the biggest statement, “this was a transitional deal, and we’ll see what happens, we’re going to start renegotiating that”… “I don’t know if it serves a purpose anymore.” …. “And the biggest purpose it served was, we got rid of NAFTA.” This presents the future of the USMCA and specifically the U.S-Canada aspect to the trade deal exactly as we anticipated.
President Trump is going to exit the trilateral USMCA in favor of two distinctly different bilateral trade agreements between the U.S and Mexico; and the U.S and Canada. The only consideration now is the timing. President Trump is 100% focused on the BIG ECONOMIC PICTURE; it’s not about the politics, it’s all about the economics. [Also pay attention to USTR Jamieson Greer] WATCH:
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Prime Minister Mark Carney knows what is coming. His response about stepping up their military spending to meet NATO obligations is part of that dynamic.
The 51st state remarks were all about getting Canada into a position where Trump is about to open up two distinctly different bilateral trade agreements. The relationship that Canada has with China is a major risk to Carney’s position. Canada doesn’t stand a chance. In essence, at the end of this journey of economics North American trade is going to be entirely different.
President Trump has sent a message of support via Truth Social on behalf of Ed Martin to be confirmed as U.S. Attorney for the important Washington DC office. Multiple ‘republican’ members of the Senate do not support the nomination.
If the nomination is not successful by May 20th, there is a scenario where DC Judge James Boasberg could appoint the U.S. attorney. Mary McCord is smiling.
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Ed Martin is going through the approval process to be U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia. According to many but, in particular, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., his approval is IMPERATIVE in terms of doing all that has to be done to SAVE LIVES and to, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN. This is a passion for Ed, more so than for almost anyone that I have seen. One of the reasons that I was so successful in winning the 2024 Presidential Election is my commitment to Health, and helping to Make America Healthy. The Cost of the Chronic Disease Epidemic has gotten out of control over the past four years of the Biden Presidency. We are going to take our Country BACK, and FAST. Ed Martin will be a big player in doing so and, I hope, that the Republican Senators will make a commitment to his approval, which is now before them. Ed is coming up on the deadline for Voting and, if approved, HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. When some day in the future you look back at your Vote for Ed Martin, you will be very proud of what you have done for America and America’s Health. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The Republican opposition group to Ed Martin is the traditional element of the party who stand against the basic principles of what the MAGA movement is all about.
Much of Europe celebrates “VE Day,” Victory in Europe Day on May 8th, to celebrate the defeat of the German Nazi regime and the ending of World War II.
Within Russia “Victory Day” on May 8th is a big deal, a very big deal. Russia lost approximately 27 million people in World War II, approximately 8.7 million military men and approximately 18 million civilians. Think of the scale. Somewhere in the range of 35 to 40% of Russian men were killed in war. Throughout Russia, honoring the history of May 8 is a big deal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ceasefire of hostility in the Ukraine conflict surrounding Victory Day, as celebrations in Russia take place from Thursday through Sunday. However, in keeping tradition with the Nazi history, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Ukraine military, with support from EU NATO allies has launched an offensive into Russia’s Kursk region -regardless of human cost- simply to humiliate Vladimir Putin.
UKRAINE – Ukraine has launched a stunning offensive in Russia’s Kursk region in a major embarrassment for Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin was determined to expel all Ukrainian troops from Russian soil ahead of this week’s Victory Day parade.
He declared a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine, starting Thursday and ending Saturday, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the official ceremony on Friday on Moscow’s Red Square.
But Volodymyr Zelensky’s army breached the Russian border Sunday night near the village of Tetkino. (read more)
Earlier today President Trump signed an executive order blocking the U.S. development of “gain of function” research, the manipulation of biological agents to weaponize their lethality. [Executive Order Here]
As Health and Human Service Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr noted in his remarks, the modern U.S. development of the bioweapons program was an outcome of a little-known subset within the Patriot Act that allowed scientists to develop bioweapons without legal accountability for any negative outcome. Let us not pretend….
In 2014 a U.S. developed bioweapon escaped a lab and in response President Obama stopped the program. However, the stoppage only blocked development of the bioweapons on U.S. soil. The various government agencies then continued the “gain of function” bioweapon development by offshoring the experiments and conducting the research in foreign countries. The SARS-CoV-2 weapon, COVID-19, was developed in one of those labs in Wuhan, China, and escaped creating the pandemic of 2020. WATCH:
EXECUTIVE ORDER – Section 1. Purpose. Dangerous gain-of-function research on biological agents and pathogens has the potential to significantly endanger the lives of American citizens. If left unrestricted, its effects can include widespread mortality, an impaired public health system, disrupted American livelihoods, and diminished economic and national security.
The Biden Administration allowed dangerous gain-of-function research within the United States with insufficient levels of oversight. It also actively approved, through the National Institutes of Health, Federal life-science research funding in China and other countries where there is limited United States oversight or reasonable expectation of biosafety enforcement.
This recklessness, if unaddressed, may lead to the proliferation of research on pathogens (and potential pathogens) in settings without adequate safeguards, even after COVID-19 revealed the risk of such practices.
Earlier today, President Donald Trump was joined by NFL and DC officials to announce the 2027 NFL Draft will take place on the National Mall in Washington DC. At the conclusion of the announcement, President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool. WATCH (prompted):
India was under pressure by both sides, the USA and China. Part of the Trump Indo-pacific plan was a geopolitical trade strategy aligning the United States with India. However, Beijing was pressuring India to reject alignment with the USA and form a mutually beneficial trade block with China.
India has rejected the Chinese plan and chosen to follow the USA model because access to the U.S. consumer base is the stronger economic influence.
The result? Once again, sad Panda.
INDIA – India has sided with the United States (US) President Donald Trump on the trade war with Xi Jinping of China. Reports indicate that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ready to accept all conditions of the US in a trade deal.
Trump raised tariffs on most Chinese imports to 145%, citing the need to reduce the trade deficit and encourage domestic manufacturing.
In retaliation, China has imposed 125% tariffs on US goods and implemented non-tariff barriers, including export controls on critical rare-earth elements.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Trump in the White House in February 2025.
In a decision to position for long-term tariff avoidance, Mercedes Benz will shift production of their GLC (compact SUV) to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, away from Bremen, Germany.
Previously, the German automaker had shifted manufacturing of large SUV lines to the USA to avoid the pre-existing 25% ‘chicken tax.’ However, the smaller and less expensive crossover types were still made in Germany and shipped to the USA. As the shipping vessels returned to Germany, they would take some of the SUV inventory back with them. It was the most cost-effective solution, given the nature of the tariff situation.
Now, with larger import tariffs against all vehicles, Mercedes has shifted their business model to essentially an outcome where all USA marketed/sold vehicles will be manufactured in the USA, and all EU marketed/sold vehicles will be manufactured in Germany.
(Via Daily Mail) – Mercedes-Benz will shift production of one of its vehicles to Tuscaloosa, Alabama by 2027. The German luxury carmaker’s move is the latest response from an industry caught in the expensive crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs.
The decision marks a potential win for Trump’s protectionist trade agenda, which aims to boost US manufacturing by slapping steep tariffs on foreign-made goods. But there are many complicating factors.
President Trump was returning to Washington DC from Mar-a-Lago, when he stopped by the assembled press pool for an impromptu presser. I wish the background airplane audio was not so loud, but the remarks from President Trump were awesome.
President Trump is brutally honest in his remarks about trade deals and tariffs saying there’s no reason for him to rush or even want to sign a deal because the only parameters that will exist are the same ones that exist right now, tariffs against all nations who tariff us. President Trump also answered the question about offering military troops to Mexico to destroy the cartel problem. WATCH:
In a rather remarkable message via Truth Social, President Trump proposes the reopening of Alcatraz prison.
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets.”
“That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders. We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally. The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” (link)
