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)
At the behest of President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson previously removed House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Mike Turner from his position. Representative Mike Turner is no longer Chairman of HPSCI. This was a big loss for the Deep State.
The removal timing was not coincidental as it followed President Trump announcing an intelligence advisory board headed by Devin Nunes {SEE HERE}. In addition to his manipulative support for Ukraine, in December of 2023 Chairman Turner lied about his FISA-702 renewal having support from Devin Nunes and John Ratcliffe {LINK}. Mike Turner was identified as a big fibber; he lied about Nunes; Turner was removed from the HPSCI chair.
After a few months of general invisibility, Mike Turner appears on CBS today to discuss the tariffs in addition to the removal of his good friend Mike Waltz from the position of National Security Advisor to President Trump. Video and Transcript below.
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. We have a lot to get to, so let’s begin today with Ohio Republican Congressman Mike Turner. Good to see you here in person.
REP. MIKE TURNER: Thanks for having me, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, I have a lot of national security topics to get to you, but at the heart of so much is America’s economic strength, and so I want to ask you about what President Trump said this week about the cost, the impact of his China tariffs on the supply of goods in the United States. Take a listen.
President Trump sat down for an extensive interview on NBC Meet the Press with Kirsten Welker. The topics covered a multitude of professional narratives organized by the leftist media apparatus, focusing on general corporate opposition to Trump’s tariffs and the America-First economic policy.
There is a big difference between an item increasing in price, and inflation. If a stroller costs $5 to $10 dollars more, but gasoline prices ($2/gal), energy prices, electricity prices and food prices drop by massive amounts, the impact to the family of MAGAnomic policy is positive.
The media narrative is based on fraud and lies. Inflation is not the rise in price of a product or group of products; inflation is the overall rise in total aggregate costs to the consumer household. President Trump reduces the cost of living overall by focusing on lowering prices of essential (unavoidable) consumption items. In the short term, specific products may cost more (goods from China), but the immediate money saved more than covers it.
[Transcript] – KRISTEN WELKER: President Trump, welcome back to Meet the Press.
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Thank you very much.
KRISTEN WELKER: Thank you so much for being here to mark your first 100 days in office. It has been an incredibly busy 100 days. You’ve signed more than 140 executive orders. You’ve been focused on the border, the economy, foreign policy. What is your biggest goal in the next 100 days?
PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Well, I think we’re going to see a lot of results. We’ve already seen them. On the border, we have the best border in the history of our country. It was 99.999, and nobody ever thought that was possible. In fact, Biden, if you remember, said he has to get legislation. And I said, “No, you just need a new president.” And I guess I was right. We have the best border we’ve ever had. We’re doing great on illegal immigration. We are being hit hard by judges that I think they’re trying to take away the power of the presidency. I was elected in a massive landslide and a big, you know, big vote. We won the swing states. We won the popular vote. We won the district votes by tremendous numbers. We won everything. And one of the reasons — one of the primary reasons I was elected was to get people out of our country that were allowed. We have prisoners. We have murderers. We have terrorists in our country. We have people from mental institutions that are seriously insane. They all came in through Biden’s open border policy. And I was elected to get them out and to seal the border, but to get them out. And we’ll have judges, they’re activist judges. They’re saying, “Well, you know, you don’t have the right to take out murderers and — and people that you don’t even want to talk about.” These are really some really bad criminal people. And they’re here illegally. So, you know they talk about — your next question will be due process. But they talk about due process, but do you get due process when you’re here illegally?
Against the backdrop of Alberta, Canada proceeding with a plan to separate from the land of the Snow Mexican leftists, a leaked video conference call between U.S. President Trump, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney is created.
The Washington Post (but of course, CIA outlet) is reporting on a downsizing effort within the CIA to eliminate approximately 1,200 jobs. The number represents approximately 5% of the workforce although the actual number of CIA employees is classified (national security, dontchaknow).
Within the report, Director John Ratcliffe is noted as shifting the focus of America’s leading spy agency to use more “human intelligence.” That phrase, “human intelligence,” is IC silo code speak for shifting away from “analysts” (political operatives) and engaging in more ¹factual intelligence information.
According to the report, DNI Tulsi Gabbard has also reduced the employment level within the Director of National Intelligence office by approximately 25% (current payroll estimate of 2,000 employees). The general narrative within the WaPo reporting is that “national security” is being compromised by large downsizing of spy agency employment.
Additionally, to bolster the positions of the current political operatives within the CIA, the WaPo waxes concerningly about China and other mysterious foreign adversaries recruiting the CIA employees who are now becoming increasingly concerned about their paychecks.
WASHINGTON POST – “The Trump administration is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency and other major U.S. spy units, downsizing the government’s most sensitive national security agencies, according to people familiar with the plans.
The administration recently informed lawmakers on Capitol Hill that it intends to reduce the CIA’s workforce by about 1,200 personnel over several years and cut thousands more from other parts of the U.S. intelligence community, including at the National Security Agency, a highly secretive service that specializes in cryptology and global electronic espionage, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
In this interview, British pundit Neil Oliver and Canadian David Krayden discuss how in the wake of the recent election Alberta separatism is gaining momentum. Elected Prime Minister Mark Carney’s net zero energy policies could push Canada towards economic crisis, with fears of higher taxes and a loss of national identity.
Krayden outlines why some Canadians believe Alberta could become the 51st US state and how Donald Trump’s surprising support for Carney is fueling debate in Candian conservative circles. Was there a plan behind Trump’s approach? WATCH:
As if on cue, a short article from the Chamber of Shipping notes that cargo from China is being rerouted to avoid tariffs.
The destination of the cargo is, wait for it,… CANADA!
USCoS – As U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods soar to as high as 145%, a growing number of companies are rerouting shipments to Canada and storing them in bonded warehouses in hopes of avoiding the duties and capitalising on a future rollback. This strategy has caused a sharp spike in Chinese shipments to Canada, with logistics firms and customs brokers reporting surging inquiries and storage demand from consumer goods, chemical, and auto parts sectors. However, experts caution that prolonged storage costs—estimated at $1,750 per container per week—and limited warehouse capacity could force sellers to offload discounted goods into the Canadian market, potentially disrupting domestic manufacturing. Others warn the strategy is risky and unsustainable, especially if the trade conflict drags into next year’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations. (link)
Think about it. We’ve already heard about the massive stoppages of April factory work in China, causing serious concern for Beijing and Chinese worker protests.
(Via CNBC) – Chinese bargain retailer Temu changed its business model in the U.S. as the Trump administration’s new rules on low-value shipments took effect Friday.
In recent days, Temu has abruptly shifted its website and app to only display listings for products shipped from U.S.-based warehouses. Items shipped directly from China, which previously blanketed the site, are now labeled as out of stock.
Temu made a name for itself in the U.S. as a destination for ultra-discounted items shipped direct from China, such as $5 sneakers and $1.50 garlic presses. It’s been able to keep prices low because of the so-called de minimis rule, which has allowed items worth $800 or less to enter the country duty-free since 2016.
The loophole expired Friday at 12:01 a.m. EDT as a result of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in April. (more)
The de minimis loophole comes from back in the 1930s. The idea back then was, say you went on a vacation to Paris, you shouldn’t have to file customs paperwork or pay taxes if you decided to ship some little Eiffel Tower statues to your friends back home.
According to the people present, when former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, his primary objective was to inform President Trump his public demands for U.S. trade reciprocity with Canada were unachievable.
Trudeau was not lying. In this outline we will explain a dynamic that is certain to surface this summer.
President Trump has deferred all North American trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico until later in the year, after the priority trade deals with other large trade partners are completed. The USMCA trade pact is due for review and renegotiation this year [BACK STORY]. We should expect an entirely different trade pact as an outcome, quite possibly the ending of the trilateral nature of the current agreement.
A few days ago, Politico noted that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had a reprieve from his prior campaign points about confronting President Trump on tariffs immediately. PM Carney is currently trying to align allies for what will likely be a major confrontation that he cannot win.
♦ BACKGROUND – Following the 2024 presidential election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Mar-a-Lago and said if President Trump was to make the Canadian government face reciprocal tariffs, open the USMCA trade agreements to force reciprocity, and/or balance economic relations on non-tariff issues, then Canada would collapse upon itself economically and cease to exist. In essence, in addition to the NATO defense shortfall, Canada cannot survive as a free and independent north American nation, without receiving all the one-way benefits from the U.S. economy.
To wit, President Trump then said, if Canada cannot survive in a balanced rules environment, including putting together their own military and defenses and meeting their NATO obligations, then Canada should become the 51st U.S state. It was following this meeting that President Trump started emphasizing this point and shocking everyone in the process. However, in the emotional reaction to Trump’s statements, no-one looked at the core issues outlined by Trudeau that framed President Trump’s opinion.
Kevin O’Leary appears on Fox Business to support President Trump’s tariff proposal against China that is targeted to confront the dragon behind the Beijing panda mask. WATCH:
