Earlier today President Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in (the Asian Obama) to discuss issues of mutual interests.  The relationship between Trump and Moon is one of the more interesting geopolitical dynamics.  President Moon is consistently flummoxed by the effectiveness of Trump and has learned to respect a strategy he doesn’t understand. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. We’re pleased to be with President Moon of South Korea. We have a long-term friendship, and we are making a lot of progress. We are working on tremendous trade deals. We — as you know, we’ve completed a trade deal, and that’s working out very well for both countries. That deal is completed now, and it’s been in existence for — solidly in existence for six months. And it’s been very good.
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Earlier this morning First Lady Melania Trump opened the New York Stock Exchange with a group of 4th grade students to celebrate the “Be Best” campaign.

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President Trump meets with Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong of the Republic of Singapore at the United Nations General Assembly. The two leaders celebrated the longstanding and expanding U.S.-Singapore bilateral security partnership, and formally renewed 1990 Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries on Defense Cooperation.
The leaders also discussed the extensive economic relations between the United States and Singapore, and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting free, fair, and reciprocal trade and investment among the world’s economies. The President thanked Prime Minister Lee for hosting the first U.S-DPRK summit, and the two leaders agreed to sustain efforts to bring about the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. As we just said, we signed a very important agreement having to do with defense and mutual defense, and I guess you could say mutual offense, also.
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President Trump tours a new cardboard manufacturing plant in Ohio with plant owner Anthony Pratt and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.   During the tour President Trump stopped to make remarks to the traveling press pool:

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President Donald Trump meets-up with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to deliver remarks at the Grand Opening of a Pratt Industries Plant in Wapakoneta Ohio. Anticipated start time is between 5:00pm ET and 6:00pm ET.
UPDATE: Video Added

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss the latest act of aggression by Iran and the Trump administration response.

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Today President Trump will be traveling to NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, to join Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a celebratory event. India is a key geopolitical ally in President Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy. [Economics, Trade and Security]
Update: Video Added

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Last week U.S. economic data included the Labor Department’s report on initial filings for unemployment benefits, at historically low levels. Also last week, the Commerce Department reported the U.S. housing market (new homes and permits) was the strongest since 2007. Then came the Philadelphia Fed’s index of manufacturing business activity in September, more than doubling estimates as factories continue to expand.  And if that wasn’t too much winning, the Commerce Department then announced August retail sales growth was double expectations.  Main Street USA is very strong.

None of the economic data supports the almost month-long ‘recession narrative’ pushed by financial pundits and media narrative engineers; and next week the second estimate of Q2 GDP growth will be released. Attempting to retain the smallest remaining whiff of credibility, the Bloomberg economists now announce they’re cancelling the recession.
Yes, in a piece titled “Hold That Recession – U.S. Indicators are Trouncing Forecasts“, Bloomberg admits the economy doesn’t match their gloomy narrative:

(Bloomberg) — The U.S. economy is outperforming expectations by the most this year, offering a fresh rebuttal to last month’s resurgent recession fears fueled by the trade war and a manufacturing slump.
The Bloomberg Economic Surprise Index has reached an 11-month high after four indicators released Thursday, including existing home sales and jobless claims, each surpassed expectations.

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For the past several weeks China has been hoping to divide the trade dispute into two tracks thereby separating trade issues related to U.S. national security.  Beijing wants, heck needs, the simple agricultural trade because they are food dependent and need that uninterrupted.  However, they are strongly opposed to a comprehensive trade reset.
Beijing wants to wait-out President Trump on the more substantive issues surrounding: intellectual property rights; forced transfer of IP and manufacturing secrets; non tariff barriers including limited access to China’s controlled markets; and state run company subsidies that lead to market dumping and saturation.
Along with avoiding legal compliance issues, China wants to carve-out the complex stuff from a simple trade agreement.
However, when asked today about the possibility of carving out a partial deal President Trump emphatically said: “NO”.  During a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, President Trump said:

“We’re looking for a complete deal, I’m not looking for a partial deal.  China has been starting to buy our agricultural product; if you noticed over the last week, and actually some very big purchases. But that’s not what I’m looking for, we’re looking for the big deal.

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Earlier today President Trump and First Lady Melania welcomed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Mrs. Jenny Morrison to the White House.  Prior to delegation meetings the President and Prime Minister held a press availability in the oval office.
As part of the breaking news discussion, President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced new sanctions on Iran.  [Video and FULL Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much everybody. It’s a great honor to have the Prime Minister of Australia. And congratulations and thank you very much, Mrs. Morrison. Thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it. This was a lovely ceremony. I hope you liked it.
PRIME MINISTER MORRISON: Absolutely.
MRS. MORRISON: We absolutely loved it.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: It was in honor of you and Australia.
MRS. MORRISON: Thank you.
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