Earlier today President Trump held a press availability in the oval office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.  The topics of conversation surrounded trade, NATO funding, Ukraine, Russia, President Trump’s conversation with Chairman Xi Jinping, the tax cut and budget bill and Elon Musk’s criticism.

At 04:42 of the video President Trump discusses his conversation with Chairman Xi Jinping of China.  President Trump and Chairman Xi agreed to organize their teams for another discussion and President Trump noted he would be sending Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer to another round of talks to hammer out the details.  Additionally, President Trump invited Chairman Xi to the USA, and Chairman Xi invited President Trump to visit China.

At the 10:00 mark, President Trump discusses the autopen controversy around the former Biden administration.  At 13:40 President Trump was asked about Elon Musk and his opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill.  President Trump and Scott Bessent walk through the benefits inside the bill and President Trump notes the EV subsidy was removed from the bill which seemed to be problematic for Musk.  WATCH:

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…”He hasn’t said anything bad about me personally, but I’m sure that will be next.  But I’m very disappointed in Elon”…

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It was always going to be thus. However, some who do not carry the mental fortitude to withstand the TRUTH, will proclaim they are witnessing some pre-scripted game of chess or something, where the Trump -v- Musk battle is coordinated. It is not.

President Trump delivers some further consideration about Elon Musk from his perspective.

Musk responds by accusing President Trump of being in the “Epstein files” and later calls for his impeachment and replacement with JD Vance.

If you are a long(ish) time reader of CTH, what we are witnessing is exactly what we said we would see unfold. And it is really good to see it happening now. I was not looking forward to this battle as the 2026 midterms came around, and I am thankful to our loving God for delivering it now.

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To understand the dynamic, it is necessary to remain elevated and unemotional as the confrontation takes place.

The U.S. Senate currently has two issues of great importance to President Trump within their upper chamber.  The first is the Big Beautiful Bill (a reconciliation spending and budget plan).  The second is Senate positioning on sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine.  Both are of great importance when you consider the domestic and geopolitical ramifications.

President Trump wants the BBB structurally passed and doesn’t care about the nibbling on the edges or customary Christmas Tree decorations (special interest add-ons).  Trump wants the Term-1 tax cuts extended and the border security money, these are must haves.

On the Ukraine/Russia stuff, Trump basically wants the Senate to back away from doing anything that influences his leverage positions for a resolution he will construct.  However, President Trump knows the Senate fully supports the proxy war aspect to the conflict (he doesn’t).

Trump has remained relatively quiet on Ukraine-Russia because he doesn’t want to antagonize the Senate who will use their affirmative votes for BBB as leverage to maintain the proxy war and support Ukraine.  That’s the background on the BBB, Russia, Ukraine and Trump’s position.

Into this foray comes the always self-interested and short-sighted Elon Musk who -despite being an influence asset at times- has the most annoying habit of never considering the downstream consequences for his selfishness.

As Musk rails against the BBB, which took 14 months of work from the House to get across the line he runs the risk of collapsing the BBB in the senate.

The longer the BBB sits in the Senate and/or gets changed so much it will take forever to get through the House again; the longer Trump has to bite his tongue on solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Musk in his infinite selfishness, cannot see how he is doing real damage to Trump’s objective around Russia by stirring up opposition to the BBB.  Things were getting ugly yesterday and became more so today.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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An interesting interview between Tucker Carlson and Former CIA Counterintelligence Operations Officer John Kiriakou about being targeted by the CIA and FBI after telling the truth about CIA torture ops.

Kiriakou outlines how no U.S. President ever controls the CIA, and why politicians are seemingly afraid of holding them accountable. WATCH:

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
1:41 Speaking Out Against the CIA’s Torture Program
7:20 Why the CIA Loved Obama
19:05 Why John Brennan Hated Kiriakou
23:23 The CIA’s Torture Techniques
32:01 How the FBI Tried to Bait Kiriakou Into Committing Espionage

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Today, President Trump signed an executive order [SEE HERE] restricting the entry of foreign nationals from a number of countries identified as national security and public safety risks. The goal is to prevent terrorists and other dangerous individuals from entering the United States and to pressure foreign governments to improve cooperation and information-sharing about their citizens.

Full Suspension: Nationals from 12 countries—including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—are now subject to a full suspension of entry, both for immigrants and most nonimmigrant visas.

Partial Suspension: Nationals from 7 other countries—including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela—face a partial suspension, affecting specific visa categories and requiring reduced visa validity.  WATCH:

[Executive Order HERE]

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President Trump and the trade team have made specific requests of Vietnam in order to negotiate a trade agreement.  Unfortunately, just like Canada, Vietnam’s problem is not an unwillingness to comply, it’s their inability.

CTH was in the manufacturing base of Vietnam in January; their factories are loaded with component parts from China used to produce finished goods sent to the USA (and globally).  President Trump is telling Vietnam they need to reduce their reliance on Chinese imported component goods, but China has spent billions in advanced positioning and contracts, influencing Vietnam.

Vietnam is a very poor country, and their population cannot afford to purchase the products they manufacture.  They do not have a domestic consumption base. They are reliant on exports to more wealthy nations to keep their manufacturing base afloat.  Practically, it is easy to have sympathy for Vietnam due to their economic dependence on both China (for imported raw materials) and the USA (for exported finished goods).

VIETNAM – The US has sent a “long” list of “tough” requests to Vietnam in its tariff negotiations, including demands that could force the country to cut its reliance on Chinese industrial goods imports, two people briefed about the matter told Reuters.

Washington wants Vietnam-based factories to reduce their use of materials and components from China and is asking the country to control more carefully its production and supply chains, one of the people briefed on the talks said, without elaborating on whether quantitative targets were included.

The list is part of an “annex” to a framework text prepared by US negotiators, according to four people familiar with the matter.

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It is at moments like this when I wish General Michael Flynn had not comprehensively compromised his ability to provide advice and counsel to President Donald Trump. This is great advice shared via Twitter:

“1. While most of America remains blissfully uninformed by our establishment press, the world’s two greatest superpowers are being manipulated by Dark Forces inside and outside our government, into a major military confrontation that no country wants, and no sane person would ever want.

2. I have no role in the Trump Administration, but over a long career in the active uniformed military, specifically military intelligence, I have made it a point to cultivate many sources of information around the world. From what I can piece together, I want to share my deep concerns about who is behind this march to war, and my recommendations for how our nation and the West can avoid a major military confrontation with Russia.”

“3. I believe that the American Deep State is staffed by those with a deep, visceral, and irrational hatred for Russia, and these persons have conspired to box in President Trump’s decision making through the Russiagate Hoax. During the time the Soviet Union was expanding and infiltrating our government, I was an outspoken anti-communist, but, despite the lies told by our Deep State, Russia is not the Soviet Union and Putin is not Stalin. Even today, years after the Russiagate Hoax has been exposed, President Trump’s efforts to bring peace are met with resistance. The Establishment Press, deeply influenced and even sometimes controlled by our Deep State, labeled President Trump and those who work for him “Putin’s Puppets” to goad him into taking unwarranted and aggressive steps against Russia. These voices from the establishment press reflect the views of the Deep State, not the American People, and not the MAGA movement, and should be completely disregarded, if not mocked.”

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Cut through all the chaff and countermeasures deployed by the professional DC system intended to convolute and keep Trump and Putin at arm’s length, and you can see the outline of what we have discussed on these pages for several months.

There are geopolitical benefits to President Trump and President Putin having a strategic alignment.  However, the elements against them are massive, entrenched and highly Machiavellian.

President Trump shares the following message after a phone call with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.

[SOURCE]

…”It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace. President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.”…

As Ukraine officials huddle together with their co-dependent enablers in the U.S. Senate, the implied message from the second half of Trump’s statement is for the senators to stop messing with U.S. foreign policy because Putin can help solve the Iran problem.

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