Today, President Donald J Trump signed an executive order triggering the first ever system of “reciprocal trade tariffs,” a seismic change in U.S. trade policy that will also consider the respective nation’s VAT (Value Added Tax) tariff.

Within the executive order [as outlined], the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative will consider foreign industry subsidies, and non-monetary tariff barriers as part of the determination of the tariff levied.  This is a stunning shift in U.S trade agreements that will cut through all the angles being deployed to avoid U.S. tariffs and block U.S exports into their country.

The policy will pressure foreign nations to lower their trade barriers to U.S. goods and eliminate disparity in foreign trade agreements.  One big example will be the impact on the EU through the continuing Marshall Plan.  The EU will now face reciprocal tariffs and no longer benefit from one-way tariff acceptance. There are obviously no tariffs on products made inside the USA.

With “reciprocal tariffs” the Commerce Dept and USTR will now determine the trade imbalances with each individual country and will evaluate each FTA (Free Trade Agreement), one-by-one to deconflict the trade imbalance.  Direct tariffs, subsidies, regulatory hurdles, non-monetary trade barriers and hidden export subsidies will be addressed as part of the reciprocity evaluation.  This is a completely new dynamic in the era of modern global trade and economics.

During the executive order signing event, President Trump took questions from the media. WATCH:

Between now and April 1st, each individual trade agreement will be evaluated with consideration for all facets of the cost for American companies to export to the evaluated nation.  Direct tariffs, Value Added Taxes (VAT), state subsidies and non-monetary regulatory tariff barriers, will be determined for each nation.  That nation will then be made aware of the tariff against each sector within their export system to the United States.

Effective April 2, 2025, President Trump will then have the tariff data provided by the USTR and Secretary of Commerce. President Trump will determine when the reciprocal tariff will be triggered and will likely engage in discussions with the leaders of the foreign nations.

These fireside chat-style impromptu pressers during executive order signings are awesome.  The revolutionary change in government transparency and communication is, well, quite literally historic and stunning.  The media can ask questions in real-time as the specific policy is implemented and explained, while simultaneously the ability of the media to shape an anti-Trump policy narrative is removed.

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President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a joint press conference after their bilateral meeting in Washington. Modi has heaped praise on Trump and is hoping to avoid tariffs that the new administration has slapped on other countries in its opening week.

Livestream Links Below:

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Earlier today the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr 52-48, with Senator Mitch McConnell (U-DC) the lone Republican joining all 47 Democrats to vote against him. Kennedy made pledges to protect existing vaccination programs in a bid to secure votes of hesitant lawmakers.

Completing the journey to align Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) with Making America Great Again (MAGA), Secretary RFK Jr will now run a Health and Human Services agency that coordinates more than $3 trillion in healthcare spending. Also under Secretary Kennedy are the Medicare and Medicaid programs that provide health insurance for over 140 million Americans, along with the National Institutes of Health.

During his swearing in ceremony RFK Jr pledged to work to end chronic disease. Previously Kennedy said he wants to break any ties between employees at the U.S. drugs regulator and Big Pharma industry. Secretary Kennedy had high praise for President Donald Trump; saying, “God sent me President Trump” to fulfill his mission to turn the American system of health around. Swearing in ceremony below:

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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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President Trump delivered some rather remarkable filler information today surrounding the phone calls between himself, President Putin and President Zelenskyy.  The remarks, which should not be missed, come at the conclusion of the Tulsi Gabbard swearing in ceremony. [09:45 video, prompted]

The first question received was about the Russia v Ukraine conflict and the conversations with Zelenskyy and Putin.  President Trump outlined that the first meeting to end the conflict will likely take place between himself and Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia as organized through the intermediary, Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS). [11:45]

President Trump noted there was unlikely to be any NATO discussion for Ukraine, and the concession of territory to Russia was generally accepted foregone conclusion.  [15:10] Due to the curiously missing Zelenskyy in the response, the media asked if President Trump “sees Ukraine as an equal member in the process.” President Trump responded that it was an interesting question, but ultimately “they have to make peace.”  President Trump then noted that eventually, during this ceasefire, Ukraine is going to need to conduct elections. [More than implying that Zelenskyy is irrelevant].

The general response in combination with the previously released statement from Zelenskyy seems to frame a strange dynamic.  Zelenskyy never asked Trump to visit Ukraine, and the way President Trump frames the Zelenskyy perspective is as if the Ukranian President is willingly an outside observer without a genuine ability to engage without having to ask another “entity” for permission.  WATCH:

The way President Trump outlines the discussion(s) further evidences the suspicions we highlighted before. [SEE HERE] The response to the Ukraine questions extends to around 22:17 of the video, where the subject changes to DOGE.  There again, some really interesting remarks from President Trump.

President Trump notes the corruption being outlined is of such a massive number, “billion and billions”, that there is no way these payments do not include kickbacks, likely to politicians.  Trump then turns to AG Bondi and remarks that this is something the AG will likely have to look at. “There’s a lot of things to look at Pam.”

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The remarks and formal swearing in ceremony are essentially uneventful; however, it is President Trump’s remarks at the conclusion of the swearing in ceremony that will catch the majority of attention from the geopolitical observers and the DC machine.  We will break out that part in a different post.

In the interim, here is the swearing in ceremony for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.  WATCH:

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been conspicuously quiet since her confirmation last week.  The Lawfare has raged against the Trump administration, while AG Bondi has remained silent.

However, today at 4:30pm EST, Attorney General Bondi is scheduled to hold a press conference from Washington DC.  Livestream Links Below.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Deep weeds walkers can infer quite a bit from the Zelenskyy pablum, including the necessary photograph that accompanies the text written for him by the CIA.  And without a scintilla of doubt, the CIA wrote the Twitter text. Remember, in order to understand the Ukraine dynamic, it’s always World War Reddit, which is high on optics and narrative.

Yes, once you fully accept that situation – then you realize President Trump is negotiating with the CIA, through the installed representative we call Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  That’s the context.

Even if you find it hard to fathom, apply the analytical filter noted in the introduction.  Does the Zelenskyy text and statement change in construct?

Think about a hypothetical: (1) President Trump and Vladimir Putin agree to a total cessation of hostilities, a complete pause in the fighting. (2) President Trump tells Zelenskyy that on XXX date, all fighting stops as negotiations and diplomacy begins. (3) “Oh, and by the way, this pause provides you the opportunity to hold a national election, solidifying your support, right?” (4) Then what happens?

When you are, essentially, negotiating with yourself (your own govt) in public, well, what do you say?

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The full senate vote was 52-48. Senator Mitch McConnell (U-DC) was the lone republican who voted against confirming Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI).  Tulsi Gabbard is now DNI.

Additionally, the Senate voted 53-47 on the cloture vote for Robert F Kennedy Jr as nominee for Health and Human Service Secretary. With senate debate now ended, the full confirmation vote on RFK Jr could come tomorrow.

WASHINGTON – The GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to be President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, putting the former congresswoman in charge of the sprawling U.S. intelligence community.

The 52-48 vote was largely along party lines, with nearly all Republicans present voting in favor of Gabbard. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former longtime GOP leader who has clashed with Trump, was the only Republican who joined all Democrats in voting against her.

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