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.
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 †
Earlier today President Trump was questioned about the current status of Ukraine-Russia peace talks, as contrast against the upcoming meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin in Turkey this Thursday.
President Trump said he was optimistic about the meeting which is the first direct face-to-face discussion between the leaders of the two warring nations since the beginning of the conflict. “I would fly there if I thought it would be helpful,” Trump said. “Thursday’s meeting with Russia and Ukraine is really important. I was really insistent that that meeting take place. I think good things can come out of that meeting. Stop the bloodshed, it’s a bloodbath.” WATCH:
President Trump is traveling to the Middle East right now for a series of meetings in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. President Zelenskyy quickly responded via Twitter, “all of us in Ukraine would appreciate it if President Trump could be there with us at this meeting in Türkiye.”
There is a precedent for President Trump to make quick scheduling changes. You might remember he ditched the press conference in Canada at the conclusion of the G7 events, and shocked the world by showing up at the DMZ in North Korea to meet with Chairman Kim Jong-un. President Trump famously walked into North Korea without any security detail. It was one of the most bold and stunning events in recent political history.
Can you imagine if President Trump showed up at the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. lol
Appearing on CNBC this morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gives an outline of the discussions between the USA and China. Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held meetings with the Chinese delegation in Geneva, Switzerland this past weekend.
Pay attention to Secretary Bessent describing [05:40] how Chinese ‘overproduction’ is now reaching the shores of partnered nations, that is the element CTH previously outlined {SEE HERE}, which is a rather significant issue right now. The goods themselves are not ‘generic’ in nature, they are branded high-end products awaiting labeling and distribution once their component part of the global tariff is determined. This is part of the ‘urgency’ motive for Beijing to seek some understanding of the timeline.
President Donald Trump is going to sign an executive order today aiming to dramatically lower prescription drug prices in the U.S. by tying them to the lowest price paid by any country in the world. The order is based on a “most favored nation” pricing model.
Anticipated Start Time 9:30am to 10:00am ET – Livestream Links Below.
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.
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 †
As expected by anyone with common sense, the statement by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng is considerably different from the U.S. media interpretation of the White House statement.
According to He Lifeng: […] “The atmosphere of the meeting was candid, in-depth and constructive. The meeting reached substantial progress and achieved important consensus. The two sides agreed on establishing a consultation mechanism for trade and economic issues, identified the lead persons on each side, and will carry on further consultations relating to trade and economic issues of their respective concerns. The two sides will finalize relevant details as soon as possible and will issue a joint statement reached on May 12.”
[…] “China’s position towards this trade war has been clear and consistent; that is, China doesn’t want to fight a trade war, because trade wars produce no winners. But if the U.S. insists on forcing this war upon us, China will not be afraid of it and will fight to the end.”
.
This ‘clarification‘ of sorts by Big Panda should not come as a surprise, despite the White House press release and the wording of the title.
Neither Secretary Bessent nor USTR Greer would make an announcement of a “trade deal” in advance of President Trump’s personal announcement. PERIOD!
Indeed, if you listen to the wording from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Rep Jamieson Greer, there is no talk of an actual deal in their language. Methinks whoever wrote the White House headline, that is (not accidentally) currently manipulating the markets, will be soon given the exit. Here’s the remarks from Bessent and Greer:
In several ways it was likely strategically smart for President Trump to distance himself from the Intelligence Operation in Ukraine known as World War Reddit. The odd and opaque narratives from NATO, EU and CIA elements bear all the hallmark tells of an intelligence operation running amok.
With President Trump slowly exiting the nonsense, the group colloquially known as the “Coalition of the Willing” organizes their latest public relations stunt with a visit to Kyiv. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the goofy Polish Prime Minister who doesn’t do much, Donald Tusk, took the pantomime train into Ukraine for a spring walk with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The U.K, German and French political leaders are all using their Ukraine involvement to deflect from the political chaos that exists back home. Starmer, Zelenskyy, Macron, Merz and Tusk brought their best videographers and photographers to provide the optics and visuals.
The quintet’s performance included a phone call to President Trump in order to collectively wag their finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, while saying they all agreed to a 30-day ceasefire starting tomorrow (Mon). You can tell this is all theatrically produced as part of World War Reddit because earnest diplomatic negotiations do not take place through media.
If they want a Monday ceasefire, the ‘dramatic acting’ crew needs to have Putin on the call – not Trump. Duh!
In response to the latest chapter in the public relations campaign, Russian President Putin has requested to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey next week on Thursday. Zelenskyy, speaking on behalf of the international intelligence apparatus that is conducting the proxy war, says he will not meet to discuss the terms for a ceasefire with Putin unless a ceasefire already exists. Again, the confliction is simply more surface evidence of the IC involvement.