"Don't Retaliate": US Treasury Secretary Warns Against Tariff Retaliation

04/03/25 4:25 AM

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday warned trading partners that any retaliation to the barrage of new tariffs from the White House would only result in further escalation.

"It's Liberation Day In America," Posts Trump Ahead Of Tariffs Announcement

04/03/25 12:24 AM

US President Donald Trump geared up to unveil sweeping new "Liberation Day" tariffs on Wednesday in a move that threatens to ignite a devastating global trade war.

"Ready To Fight": How World Leaders Reacted To Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs

04/03/25 5:00 AM

Escalating a global trade war, US President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of reciprocal tariffs to match duties put on US goods by other countries.

"Time Is Good": German Envoy On Free Trade Agreement With India

04/03/25 12:49 AM

German ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann today said that the country's relationship with India will continue under the new government and there could even be a boost in many areas.

'Bit of a mess': NY Times finds many of Trump's executive orders make no sense

04/01/25 7:30 PM

President Donald Trump has signed more than 300 executive orders since coming into office — and a New York Times reporter thinks he knows why.According to opinion writer Carlos Lozada, Trump "favors the flourish of the order over the hassle of lawmaking." After all, "Why bother assembling legislative coalitions when you can just write, 'By the authority vested in me as president by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered' and then tack on whatever you like?" he asked.Lozada has read through every single Trump orders so far, and found that they laid bare "the assumptions, obsessions and contradictions of the man signing them." Lozada described Trump's orders as "a bit of a mess."ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldHe continued, "Some of the orders are so generic as to be meaningless. One of the shortest declares that U.S. foreign policy must always 'put America and American citizens first.'" Another order "requires that taxpayer money should be spent 'only on making America great.' It’s hard to know how to execute such orders, other than to proclaim them."Lozada wrote that although some orders are "specific in their instructions," still "others list no precise actions but only instruct some new task force or council to think of things to do."For example, Lozada wrote, "An agency or program may receive new responsibilities in one executive order only to find itself dismantled in another. Orders sometimes echo Trump’s standard slogans, whether putting America first or making America great, without adding much meaning to them. And stylistically, they veer from formal policy pronouncement to campaign speech to social media diatribe, sometimes all within the same text."Lozada wrote that "despite the muddle — or perhaps because of it — the new administration’s orders fulfill one essential service: They affirm and expand Trump’s vision of the presidency, of politics, of our Nation...they "illuminate the president’s interpretation of America’s values — what kind of people belong herebelong here, how the nation’s history should be taught, which principles are worth upholding and defending."The trouble with executive actions, which Trump may find out one day, "do not carry the same legitimacy or endurance of laws passed by Congress and can be revoked by future presidents."Read The New York Times opinion piece here.

'Conservatives just embarrassed Mike Johnson': MAGA lawmaker lauded after GOP 'mutiny'

04/01/25 7:58 PM

In a major defeat for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) led the effort to advance remote voting for members of Congress who are new parents.Nine Republicans joined all House Democrats to advance the measure that would allow the new parents to designate a colleague to vote for them for 12 weeks after they or their spouse welcome a new child.The measure was introduced by Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) in January and gained bipartisan support. The fight against Johnson's attempts to undermine the measure caused Luna to leave the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members backed Johnson.Johnson and other Republicans have called proxy voting unconstitutional and rife for abuse.Political writer @Monaheart1229 posted to social media, "Johnson's attempt to block MAGA House Rep Anna Paulina Luna's DP giving proxy voting rights to new parents has FAILED 206-222 Nine MAGA 'no' votes Luna: 'Never bet against the Luna.” House Dem Rep Brittany Pettersen’s message to Johnson: “Don’t f--- with moms.”ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldReporter Melanie Zanona wrote, "An effort by GOP leadership to kill @realannapaulina’s proxy voting push for new parents just failed on the House floor. Remote voting will still need to come to the floor & pass, but this is a big win for Luna — & big defeat for Speaker Johnson. 8 Rs sided w/ Luna."Luna, no liberal squish, did a brave thing by trying to enact a simple pro-family policy in a bipartisan manner. Mike Johnson tried to punish her for it and failed," wrote The Bulwark's Joe Perticone.Columnist Eric Michael Garcia posted, "Goodness gracious! EIGHT Republicans opposing this rule that would have killed Anna Paulina Luna's discharge petition! Mike Johnson is facing a mutiny!" Garcia added, "Conservatives just embarrassed Mike Johnson on a level I haven't seen since the McCarthy days. Johnson USED proxy voting regularly during the 117th Congress, but he needed to keep Chip Roy happy so he sided with her instead of Luna and got a jailbreak."Congressional correspondent Julie Tsirkin called it a "HUGE win for @realannapaulina… who moments before the vote expressed her disappointment with House GOP leadership’s efforts to kill her proxy voting push for new parents 8 Republicans joined Luna in defeating Speaker Johnson."And PatriotTakes wrote, "Anna Paulina Luna attacks Speaker Mike Johnson’s hypocrisy over proxy voting," along with photo evidence of Johnson having voted by proxy as late as 2022.Luna posted before the vote, "Here are some documents showing [Johnson] voting by proxy in the 117th Congress, as late as December 2022. He argues it's 'unconstitutional' but has done it several times! Since the case is being made to the public via press, I'm doing the same."

'Diabolically unpopular': Trump allies worried 'about MAGA muddying their own brand'

03/30/25 5:53 PM

International allies of President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement are starting to worry their affiliation with the U.S. president will negatively affect their own popularity, the Economist reports. According to the report, “Some leaders on the hard right are now beginning to worry about MAGA muddying their own brand.” As the Economist reports, though “Trump has had few clear wins and many chaotic policy turns ... much energy has been devoted to targeting domestic political enemies for grievances that do not resonate outside America." Any benefit Mr Trump might have given right-wing parties is “being overshadowed by an expansionist and aggressive political nationalism”, says Eric Kaufmann, a professor at the University of Buckingham (and a self-described national conservative). America First, he says, “is activating political defensiveness in other countries”. Views of America have turned sharply negative across polls in several Western countries. This “Trump effect” is seen most keenly “in countries where the American president has picked fights,” including Ukraine and Canada," the report notes. “MAGA’s international allies (who describe themselves as ‘national conservatives’) had expected Mr Trump’s victory to make radical right-wing politics more credible with voters elsewhere,” the Economist reports. “… But a populist Trump-bump has failed to materialise, despite efforts by many of Mr Trump’s lieutenants to make his administration and the wider maga movement an inspiration to and example for right-wing populists around the world.” As the Economist reports, the net effect of Trump’s presidency “has been to boost mainstream incumbents at the expense of populist outsiders.” READ MORE: Here's why Trump is really targeting big DC law firms

'Disturbing': Once-skeptical analyst now fears Trump's Greenland vow is more than threat

04/02/25 6:23 PM

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen once believed that President Donald Trump's stated desire to take over Greenland was all hot air — but now he's not so sure.In his latest column, Cohen — who is of no relation to the former Trump attorney of the same name — points to new evidence that the president is deadly serious about acquiring the large island nation, which would possibly require him to invade a NATO ally to get the job done.Cohen believes that Vice President J.D. Vance's recent trip to Greenland was an indication that the United States really is making plans to launch a war of aggression for Greenland, which is currently owned by longtime American ally Denmark.What particularly disturbed Cohen is that Vance didn't meet with any government officials in Greenland and only delivered a bellicose speech that baselessly accused the Danish government of doing a poor job of defending the territory.ALSO READ: Elon Musk 'being driven visibly insane' by anti-Tesla protests: analysis"The vice president’s menacing rhetoric follows a familiar and disturbing pattern," Cohen observes. "In January, before taking office, Trump refused to rule out economic or military coercion to take over the island. 'It might be that you’ll have to do something,' he said at the time in reference to Greenland and the Panama Canal. In his address to a joint session of Congress last month, he said, 'One way or another, we’re gonna get it.'"What makes this most unnerving, adds Cohen, is there truly does not appear to be any strategic rationale for snatching Greenland."Why does Trump want Greenland so badly? I suspect it’s the same reason he wants to annex Canada and reclaim the Panama Canal," he warns. "It’s consistent with his propensity for slapping his name (always in giant letters) on garish, self-aggrandizing, yet oddly boring architectural monstrosities around the globe. It’s all about Trump’s ego."

'He needs to listen': GOP pollster urges Trump to stop blowing off warnings

04/02/25 6:29 PM

Republican pollster Frank Luntz issued a warning to Donald Trump just hours before the president was set to announce his "liberation day" tariffs that experts say threaten to drain Americans' bank accounts as they shop for everyday items. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNBC Wednesday that Trump's sweeping tariffs "will throw the global economy into turmoil and leave Americans holding the bag." But Trump appeared to be plowing full steam ahead. Luntz, who spoke with CNN's Boris Sanchez Wednesday, called the United States a "polarized and angry country" that's only going to get more unstable as the Trump tariffs drag on. ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the world "The reason why I appreciate this discussion is that it's a chance to say precisely, the agenda and the policies have support, the communication and the execution do not," Luntz said. "So, I don't know if you're Democrat or Republican, you're going to be mad at this analysis, but this is the way things are, and we should start to pursue the truth rather than pursue some sort of partisan gain." Sanchez asked, "How do you take that sentiment and apply it to...this announcement on tariffs?" "It's going to freak the world out, and some Americans don't care," Luntz answered. He claimed that Trump chose 4 p.m. for his announcement "because the markets are closed at that point." Luntz continued, "You could see an explosion on Wall Street, and Donald Trump has always used the stock market as a measurement of his success. Well, he can't ignore it now. And if the markets are saying this is not the right way to do it, he needs to listen." Luntz admitted that Americans "are tired of being treated as second class citizens. They're tired of countries like China taking advantage of our markets, selling their products and blocking our products," he said."But they don't want to pay more, and the tariffs are like a tax. And, so, we've got once again, a mixed message. I hope Americans respond slowly to this because in the end, our businesses are at stake. Our economic system is at stake. Capitalism is at stake. And how we handle this will determine how the rest of the world is going to see us, trade with us, negotiate with us, and treat us in the months and years to follow." Watch the video below or at this link.

'Heads are going to explode': Critics stunned as Trump delivers bizarre history lesson

04/02/25 9:04 PM

President Donald Trump got a thorough roasting on social media Wednesday after claiming that a lack of tariffs caused the country to spiral into the Great Depression in 1929. Trump made the remarks during a Rose Garden appearance touting his "liberation day" tariffs as the hand-picked audience that included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Michigan autoworkers applauded. Trump said he would use the occasion to sign a “historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world.” Trump then began giving a history lesson of sorts. "In 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens rather than foreign countries would start paying the money necessary to run our government," Trump said. "Then, in 1929, it all came to a very abrupt end with the Great Depression, and it would have never happened if they had stayed with the tariff policy; it would have been a much different story. They tried to bring back tariffs to save our country, but it was gone. It was gone. It was too late. Nothing could have been done."ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffsTrump continued, "It took years and years to get out of that depression, far longer than even FDR — had that office right over there for a long period of time. The ramp system, it's rather intricate, was built because of him. And every time you walk up, you think of him. And he did a great job in many ways — but it lasted long beyond his terms, as you know. But it's not too late any longer, and we're going to start being smart, and we're going to start being very wealthy again." On Bluesky, columnist Brian J. Karem posted, "NOW: According to Trump the Great Depression would have never happened if we had tariffs in 1929. WE DID! AND worse, President Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law in 1930, which raised import duties by an average of 20%. International trade suffered." Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, wrote, "Trump just claimed the Great Depression wouldn't have happened if we still had tariffs. I..." "Trump claims lack of tariffs caused the Great Depression. All the free-trader economists' heads are going to explode," posted Bloomberg's Steven T. Dennis, while The Financial Times' Alan Beattie posted, "Trump thinks that cutting tariffs caused the Great Depression. I mean it's a view I guess." Watch the clip below or at this link. Watch the clip below via CNN.