During an oval office press conference today, President Trump took several questions about China and the U.S. trade confrontation.  After receiving the third question, on the same subject, President Trump paused and then went deep into the heart of the issue.
The question was: ” Mr. President, you keep insisting that your trade war with China — the trade war with China is not affecting the U.S. economy. But a lot of economists disagree with that. And they worry that if China goes into a recession, they’ll pull us down with it.”
Here is President Trump’s response:

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[Transcript] … PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well — well, okay. Let me — let me tell you something. Number one, we’re doing very well as an economy. But somebody had to take China on. You know, I read and I see so much and I read so much, and I’ll see these economists saying, “Oh, give up. Give up on China. Give up.”
China has been ripping this country off for 25 years — for longer than that. And it’s about time, whether it’s good for our country or bad for our country short term. Long term, it’s imperative that somebody does this because our country cannot continue to pay China $500 billion a year because stupid people are running it.
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Jon McNaughton’s latest artwork draws inspiration from the scale of President Donald Trump’s accomplishments; and the scale of opposition he has faced.  [Website Here]

From the artist: “What does the future hold for America? President Trump’s last few years in office have been remarkable. He has changed the direction of this county economically, devastated ISIS, negotiated with countries on the world stage, and been a powerful voice for American ideals.
It hasn’t been easy, as he has been blocked by both Republicans and Democrats, trashed by the media, and hunted by the deep state in an attempt to undermine his presidency. But, the “painting” is not finished!”

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Earlier today President Donald Trump welcomed President Klaus Iohannis of Romania to the White House.  During the Oval Office media availability by both leaders President Trump took multiple questions from U.S. media. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much, everybody. It’s an honor to be with the President of Romania, who’s highly respected and done a great job. And I hear there’s a little political season going on in Romania, but I would imagine you’re going to do very well because you’re very talented, you love the people.
And we’ve had a great relationship with Romania. The United States and Romania have gotten along better than ever before. So, I want to thank you for that.
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Facebook has banned any ads from the Women For Trump movement because they target support from “Women” for Trump.

Facebook has removed President Trump’s pro-women re-election advertisements, according to reports from tech site Gizmodo, as well as the left-wing Popular Information blog that reported a “violation” of Facebook’s terms and conditions.
Facebook policy states advertisers may not have “direct or indirect assertions or implications” about race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, religion, or financial standing. So the Women For Trump advert was banned… for referring to women.  (read more)

Italy is one of the key economies within the EU. In the past several years, driven by both economic challenges and unfettered immigration challenges, the populist revolt has gained ground. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a nationalist-minded politician, has won the hearts of Italian voters.  Matteo Salvini is a proud Italian populist.
Several months ago Matteo Salvini challenged current Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to hold a snap election; and followed-up with continued pressure on the Italian government by advancing populist positions of economic patriotism, sovereignty and tougher immigration rules.

Amid a revolt against globalism writ large, it was not accidental that Nancy Pelosi traveled to Italy recently with a coalition of U.S. leftist politicians to organize a strategy to fend-off Salvini and assist Prime Minister Conte. Pelosi is an opportunist. Part of the plan for Conte to hold power was a shift within his party (Five Star Movement or 5sM) to form an alliance with the Italian left-wing Democratic Party (Pelosi’s ideological allies).
To pull off their plan, Conte and the Democratic Party would align; Conte would then resign and hold the snap election where 5sM and the far-left Democratic party would re-elect him. This approach would strategically counter the 36 percent of support currently held by Matteo Salvini (the League). Today Giuseppe Conte resigned.

(Wall Street Journal) […] Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced his resignation in a speech to the Senate on Tuesday, blaming far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for causing a political crisis as Italy looks to draw up a challenging budget to keep its parlous finances on track.

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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.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Stephanie Grisham Twitter @StephGrisham45

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 †

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sits down for a wide-ranging interview with Martha MacCallum to discuss ongoing multi-layered issues between the U.S. and China.

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According to the White House:

President Donald J. Trump spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom earlier today to discuss a wide range of trade and economic issues. Prime Minister Johnson also provided the President with an update on Brexit. The President expressed great enthusiasm for his upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France. (link)

The G7 is being held August 24th – 26th.  The word of a tentative post-Brexit U.S-U.K trade agreement was first released last week. The potential construct has the assembly of mutual benefit and follows a plan previously recommended by President Trump to Prime Minister Theresa May.
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Fresh from the same Dept. of Energy and EPA that gave us: toilets that don’t flush; light bulbs that don’t light; dishwashers that don’t wash; plant-based fuel that burns like carrots; and paper straws that dissolve in liquid….  Now we get this:

[…] Energy Star, the federal program from the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency, said the coolest you should keep your home is 78 degrees when you’re home.
When you’re at work or away, the program recommends setting it at 85 degrees. When you’re sleeping, Energy Star said to set the thermostat at 82 degrees. (link)

Setting the thermostat at 82° at night is well recognized grounds for divorce. I swear these administrative state progressives are going to have us force-fed sustainable algae cakes if this keeps up.
Some journalist-type person published these new cooling standards on twitter, and the responses are quite funny.
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