Old Glory Vortex

Beijing fires extraordinary trade war broadside following JD Vance's slur Beijing has fired an extraordinary new broadside at America amid growing trade war anger - with a senior Chinese official declaring 'Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation'. Xia Baolong, a top Chinese official who oversees Hong Kong affairs, branded the US tariffs as 'extremely shameless' and warned that bullying has never worked on Chinese people in a televised speech today. The comments by Xia, the director of Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, follow JD Vance's controversial 'Chinese peasants' slur. 'The Chinese people do not cause trouble, nor are they afraid of trouble. Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China,' Xia added. The comments came after China hiked its levies on imports of US goods to 125 per cent, hitting back at Trump's decision to single out the world's No. 2 economy for effectively raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 per cent. Vice President Vance said this month that the US borrows and buys from 'Chinese peasants', a remark that drew condemnation in China. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is subject to US tariffs imposed on China as it is no longer considered a separate trading entity by Washington amid a years-long crackdown under a sweeping national security law. Unlike the mainland, Hong Kong, as an international free trade hub, is not planning to impose any retaliatory tariffs on the US right now, its leader John Lee said last week. Beijing has dismissed the US president's sweeping tariff strategy as a 'joke' and factories across China are seemingly mocking Trump by urging Americans on social media to buy from them directly at knockdown prices. #Tariffs #China #Vance Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Trump Presses China to Make Tariff Offer to Calm Trade War President Donald Trump called on China to reach out to him in order to kick off negotiations aimed at resolving the escalating trade fight between the world’s two largest economies.

“The ball is in China’s court. China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them,”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, reading what she said was a statement Trump dictated.

“There’s no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, and China wants what we have, what every country wants, what we have — the American consumer — or to put another way, they need our money,”

the statement continued. The comments are a fresh sign the US and China continue to dig in their heels, indicating there is no end in sight to fight that has seen both sides raise trade barriers to staggering levels. When asked about the US’s stance at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that “if the US truly wants to resolve the issue through dialog and negotiation, it should stop using maximum pressure and stop threats and blackmail.”

“For any dialog to happen, it must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit,”

Lin said. China ordered airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing Co. jets, according to people familiar with the matter. It marked Beijing’s latest move to retaliate against Trump’s decision to hike levies to as high as 145% on Chinese goods. The US president criticized China in a social media post earlier Tuesday, saying the government “just reneged on the big Boeing deal” signed during his first administration. #Trump #Tariffs #China Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Elizabeth Warren: Congress Has to Take Tariff Authority Away from Trump 🏛⚖️ Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that Congress had to take away the tariff authority from President Donald Trump. 🗣💼 Warren said,

“It is a mistake to have the President of the United States out there just playing red light, green light 🚦 and saying, oh, this morning I woke up and think the tariffs should be this big. Now, I think they should be this big; now, I think they should be somewhere else. And I got to say, saying, well, I will continue to make those decisions and I’m going to hold off on these tariffs for 90 days ⏳, that doesn’t put the economy 💸 in a better place. That doesn’t put investors 💼 in a better place.”

She added,

“Congress has a job right now, and that is to step up and take this authority away from Donald Trump. He has proven how he will use it. But remember the statute that he’s now using starts with a declaration of emergency 🚨. And in that same statute, Congress has the responsibility to decide: is it really an emergency or not? Are we really in an emergency with Belgium 🇧🇪 right now? Are we really in an emergency with South Korea 🇰🇷? Congress can say no, there’s no emergency. It’s a resolution 📝. And if we do that, it takes Donald Trump back to the trade as we had it before. Tariffs are then decided with Congress having an important say in it. That’s an important signal to the rest of the world 🌍. Right now it’s a no curbs on Donald Trump 🚫 and that means chaos and corruption 💥💰. We have an opportunity in Congress to vote that down and to say, no, we are going to use tariffs in a far more targeted way 🎯.”

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Clear indications that Donald Trump’s presidency is endangered ⚠️🇺🇸 After only three months in office ⏳ full of missteps, some political observers are admitting Donald Trump's second time in the Oval Office is going poorly 📉 — with one Washington insider pointing out his tariff plan has turned into a "self-inflicted wound" 🤕 that has damaged his prospects. In an interview with The Guardian’s David Smith, Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota 🧠, marveled at how badly things have gone for the re-elected president, while admitting it may be too early to call it a "failed presidency" 🏚. He then added,

"... but to me there are clear indications that Donald Trump’s presidency is endangered."_ 🚨

“That’s an extraordinary statement for month three,” he continued, “but he’s taken such extreme measures 💣 and the responses are unusual, particularly for Republicans 🐘. They’re very demonstrative and directed at his power ⚔️.”

According to Smith, Trump's decision to retreat 🔙 on his sweeping tariff proposals 📦 is a sign of weakness 😬 — despite attempts "...to spin the retreat as the masterstroke of a peerless dealmaker and genius chess player" ♟🧠. As the analyst wrote:

“The damage had been done, however. 📉 Damage to America’s standing as an honest broker and dependable ally. 💵 Damage to the US dollar and financial system. 📉 Damage to Trump’s reputation on the economy — in the eyes of business leaders, Republicans, and voters.”

Columnist James Bennet of The Economist also sees weakness:

"There are limits to how far Donald Trump can go," he said, "and it’s conceivable that Republicans could rise up against him ⛔️."

“They haven’t been willing to do it over retribution campaigns 🎯, or over the deportation of innocent people ✈️👤 to prisons in El Salvador. But these tariffs were a step too far ❌ — and that’s a signal that Republican resistance may eventually emerge 💥, which is the only thing that can really restrain this administration.” 🧱

Former GOP spokesperson Kurt Bardella added:

“We’re seeing now, for the first time in Trump 2.0, the limitations of propaganda 📺🚫. Economic and market realities 📉 are larger than the lie they tell themselves and the American people. Their attempt to sell that lie to the world clearly did not work.” ❌🌍

#Trump #experts #opinion Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Most believe Trump tariffs benefit wealthy, corporations 💰🏢 Most Americans in a new poll say the wealthy and large corporations will benefit the most from President Trump’s tariffs on various imports and trade policies. 📊 In the latest CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, 74% of respondents said that Trump’s tariffs and trade policies will benefit wealthy people 💵, and 71% said they will benefit large corporations 🏙. Half of the Americans polled said they would benefit the U.S. auto industry 🚗. Still, 42% of respondents said they see the working and middle class 👷‍♂️👩‍🏫 benefiting from the tariffs as well, with 45% saying they will benefit labor unions ✊. Thirty-nine percent said the tariffs will benefit small businesses 🏪. Financial markets 📉📈 experienced whiplash after the impacts of Trump’s economic agenda. At first, the economy took a dramatic tumble 📉 earlier last week after the president implemented a flat 10% tariff on all goods coming into the country, alongside steeper “reciprocal” tariffs against dozens of nations. 🌍🛃 However, by Wednesday, Trump temporarily paused most tariffs ⏸️ while increasing tariffs against Chinese goods 🇨🇳📦 by 125%, on top of the 20% duty levied earlier this year. An increasing number of respondents say that Trump’s policies are making them financially worse off 😞💸. The latest poll found that 49% said they are worse off, a 7-point increase since March, while 30% said they are the same, a 5-point decrease. Twenty-three percent said Trump’s policies are making them better off financially 👍💵, a 2-point decrease since March. The downward trend 📉 continues in Trump’s rating on his handling of the economy. The poll found that 44% approve ✅ of Trump’s handling of the economy, a 7-point drop since March, while 56% disapprove ❌, a 7-point increase. #Trump #Tariffs #Poll Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Majority of Voters Approve of Shutting Down Federal Department of Education Polling shows a narrow majority of U.S. voters approve of President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating the dismantling of the Department of Education (DOE). The Rasmussen Reports survey found that 51 percent of likely U.S. voters approve of Trump’s order, along with 37 percent who “strongly approve.” At the same time, 47 percent disapprove, including 35 percent who “strongly disapprove.” Respondents are evenly divided on whether or not the DOE, which was created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, has made American schools better, 41 percent to 41 percent. Thirteen percent do not believe the department has made much of a difference. Unsurprisingly, those who believe the DOE has made schools better are more likely to disapprove of Trump’s order (76 percent), while those who think the department has stunted American education are supportive of its end (83 percent).

“While 62 percent of Democrats think the department has made American schools better, 57 percent of Republicans believe it has made schools worse. Among votes not affiliated with either major party, 33 percent say the federal Department of Education has made American schools better, 44 percent think it’s made schools worse, and 17 percent believe it hasn’t made much difference,”

according to the survey report.

“Similarly, while 78 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s executive order to begin shutting down the federal Department of Education, 73 percent of Democrats disapprove. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided, with 48 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving of Trump shutting down the department,”

the report continues. #Trump #Poll #Education Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the witness stand on the first day of a historic antitrust trial to defend his company against allegations it illegally monopolized the social media market. The trial could force the tech giant to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups Meta bought more than a decade ago that have since grown into social media powerhouses. FTC attorney Daniel Matheson called Zuckerberg as the first witness, as it seeks to prove that Meta acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to preserve its monopoly in the social networking space. At the trial, Matheson focused on a communication sent to colleagues that illustrated Zuckerberg’s frustration with a lack of progress on developing a photo-sharing app to compete with Instagram’s.

“The way I read this message is that I’m not happy about how we’re executing on that project,”

Zuckerberg said. Matheson followed up by asking if that was because of Instagram’s rapid growth.

“That does seem to be what I’m highlighting,”

Zuckerberg said, adding that he’s always urging his teams to do better. Later in the day, Zuckerberg appeared frustrated when Matheson asked him about his concerns expressed about how fast Instagram was growing. #Zuckerberg #Meta #court Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

American Universities Against Trump Harvard University refused to accept a deal with the Trump administration two weeks after the US government threatened to halt $9 billion in funding, vowing it won’t “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”

“Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government,”

the school’s lawyers — Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and King & Spalding — wrote in a letter Monday to US agencies including the Department of Education. Harvard president Alan Garber said in a post on the school’s website that the administration demanded new terms late Friday that went beyond prior requests. These included reforming its governance, ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and changes to its admissions and hiring. The oldest and richest US university —with a $53 billion endowment — had emerged as a target as the government sought changes at the nation’s top colleges, which were roiled by pro-Palestinian student protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the Jewish state’s retaliatory response in Gaza.

“It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,”

Garber wrote.

“Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”

The White House has used instances of antisemitism on campuses to try and force changes at elite universities across the country, stirring concern among faculty and students that they’re violating free speech and damaging scientific research. A group of Harvard professors suing the administration has accused it of exploiting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to “coerce universities into undermining free speech and academic inquiry in service of the government’s political or policy preferences.” The Trump administration has already canceled $400 million in federal money to Columbia University in March, and has frozen dozens of research contracts at Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern universities. It also suspended $175 million at the University of Pennsylvania because the school allowed a transgender athlete to compete on its women’s swim team several years ago. #american #universities #Trump 📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

🧊Harvard hit with $2.2 billion funding freeze after rejecting Trump’s demands The administration demanded changes to policies and governance due to allegations of antisemitism, illegal DEI. Harvard called the directives unconstitutional. Harvard University officials on Monday rejected Trump administration demands that the school yield to extensive government oversight and make sweeping changes to governance, admissions and hiring practices, calling the directives unlawful and unconstitutional. The administration responded Monday night by saying it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal funding to the Ivy League school. The government’s demands, received by Harvard on Friday after the administration had previously announced a review of nearly $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard, are part of the administration’s crackdown on what it calls rampant antisemitism and leftist ideology on college campuses. Harvard will continue to work to combat antisemitism and “remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community,” two attorneys representing the school wrote in a letter Monday, but the school “is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.” The demands, which came in a letter from officials at the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration, violate Harvard’s First Amendment rights, exceed the statutory limits of the government’s authority under federal civil rights law and threaten the private institution’s values, the university’s president, Alan Garber, wrote Monday in a letter to the campus community.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,”

he wrote. Harvard officials referred questions about the funding freeze to the university president’s statement earlier Monday. Garber had described the generations-long partnership between the federal government and research universities such as Harvard which had powered innovations in medicine, engineering and science.

““For the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals, but also the economic security and vitality of our nation,”

Garber wrote. The university was the first to formally push back against the government’s efforts to force change in higher education. #Harvard #University #education Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

He crashed the market, shouted “BUY” — and profited from the rebound. Call it what you want: bold economic genius, a Truth Social stunt, or exactly what it looks like — real-time market manipulation in a red tie. 🎯 Just before pausing his global tariff war for 90 days, Trump posted on his social platform: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” — signed DJT, the same letters you’ll find on his media company’s stock ticker. The effect? Explosive. S&P 500 jumped 9%. Trump Media stock? Up 22%. Then came the conveniently timed policy reversal — backtracking on the tariffs that had just sent the Dow plummeting by 1,900 points. Now Democrats like Adam Schiff and AOC are raising red flags. Insider trading? Policy-for-profit games? Schiff even dragged Elon Musk into the spotlight, questioning Tesla’s sudden 18% rally as just another “lucky break.” Experts say the legal lines are fuzzy — but the ethical ones aren’t. When one guy starts the blaze, sells the solution, and tells you when to cash in — that’s not governance. That’s a business model. 🧯 So the question isn’t “is it legal?” It’s: are Americans fine with being governed by a man who trades the economy like a Reddit stock. 📉 #trump #insidertrading #tariffs #truthsocial #DJT #stockmarket #corruption #fake_economy #oligarchy Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

🔤🔤🔤🔤2️⃣ Monthly trade deficits north of $110 billion are an intrinsic problem for the U.S. economy, despite so-called free-trade advocates insistence that such deficits are somehow a blessing. The crippling trade imbalance and the exodus of U.S. manufacturing jobs have been at the core of Trump’s tariffs crusade. He campaigned on tackling it. In February, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau reported an $8 billion decrease in the trade deficit, down from $130.7 billion in January. Democrats Loved Tariffs Before and After Trump It is curious that the same leftists who swoon over fair trade coffee can’t seem to get the idea of fair trade agreements. Democrats like Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin campaign on “Buy America,” but they recoil at the heavy lifting it takes to make it easier to fulfil that promise. Their principles melt in the hot lure of cheaply produced crap from countries that have long stuck it to American manufacturers with punitively high tariffs. Those countries include the U.S.A.’s “dear friends” and tenuous allies. Look at Michigan’s far-left governor and political climber, Wretched Gretchen Whitmer. With an eye on the 2028 presidential election cycle, Whitmer just gave a speech on her vision to bring “supply chains home from China, create more good-paying jobs, and invest in our defense industry.” What incentive does industry have to build in the United States when it is so much cheaper and less regulated to do so elsewhere? Asked by interviewer Gretchen Carlson what she would have done differently than Trump has done to achieve her stated goals, Whitmer said she really hasn’t thought about it.

“I don’t know how I would have enacted them [tariffs] differently,”

the Democrat said. What she has thought about, Whitmer claimed, is tariffs “need to be used like a scalpel, not a hammer.” You see, Democrats used to be for tariffs before they were against them. Before the rise of Trump.

“Democrats have been more scattered. Most are wary of criticizing a tariff power that they believe in, and that presidents of their own party have used to benefit US companies and unions,”

Semafor reporter David Weigel wrote this week.

“All of them disagreed with how Trump executed his tariffs. Few — but not none — are interested in being part of an anti-tariff party.”

As Weigel pointed out, the Dem Party 2024 platform praised President Joe Biden for “strategically increasing tariffs” while attacking Trump for his tariff plans. It’s an incredible talent to be able to speak so fluently out of both sides of one’s mouth. #Tariffs #Trump #Media Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Ueled by fear, nearly three-quarters of Americans surveyed believed President Donald Trump’s tariffs would hurt the U.S. economy in the short-term, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. 🔤🔤🔤🔤1️⃣ The sentiment check dropped as the Trump administration announced a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs, with the exception of serial free-trade abuser China. Instantaneously, the battered markets surged. Trump said he paused his sweeping reciprocal tariffs on the many nations who have long screwed the U.S. consumer because they were willing to come to the negotiating table in an attempt to level the playing field. The president also felt the fear of the American people. Why wouldn’t they be afraid? The Trump-hating corporate media has inundated their pages and airwaves with apocalyptic coverage of the tariffs and how Trump is single-handedly driving the world into recession. Not that there isn’t cause for worry. If you’re a baby boomer staring down the barrel of retirement right now and counting on your 401(k), the markets’ bruising over the past several days is more than unsettling. Predictable ‘Doomcasting’ While there have been moments of measured coverage on the tariff battles, the reporting by the usual suspects in the hyperbolic accomplice media has been the kind of hair-on-fire journalism the American people have come to expect in the Trump era. Curtis Houck, managing editor of media tracker NewsBusters, says the coverage has been telling. It’s reminiscent, he said, of when the leftist press was panting over the late, great Rush Limbaugh’s comments that he hoped then-President Barack Obama would fail. Corporate media got on its high horse over Limbaugh’s opinion that America would eventually be a better place if Obama’s leftist policies were unsuccessful. Now, Houck says, it feels like the same hypocritical “news” outlets are rooting for America to fail under the leadership of the left’s arch-enemy.

“The doomcasting from the corporate media has been pretty predictable,”

Houck told The Federalist.

“They are looking at the economy as something that, if it doesn’t go well, they can hang around the president in next year’s midterms.”

It’s funny. The same accomplice media that dismissed the bad economic months and years of the Biden presidency, including an actual recession by any traditional measure, is quick to pounce on Trump’s economic policies a few months in.

“Now they can’t get enough of the ‘R word’,”

Houck said, noting that we have yet to fully come to terms with the economic damage of the big government-led lockdown years. That’s not journalism. That’s the Pravda Press. Americans Are With Trump But while they’re understandably worried, Americans generally support what Trump is trying to accomplish.

“Even as President Donald Trump’s tariff policy sparks controversy, the underlying goal – protecting American manufacturing – is a big winner with voters,”

a Rasmussen Reports poll finds. According to the national telephone and online survey, 45 percent of likely U.S. voters say the government doesn’t do enough to protect U.S. manufacturers and businesses from foreign competition. Just 17 percent believe the government protects U.S. businesses too much, and 25 percent say the current level of protection is about right. The findings haven’t changed much from a similar survey from Rasmussen Reports conducted in 2018, during Trump’s first term. At the time, as the president imposed hefty tariffs on some foreign manufacturers, Americans by a two-to-one margins supported tariffs. #Tariffs #Trump #Media Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Boeing Helped Power Russia’s Economy. Could It Return? Moscow is hinting that the company would be welcomed back as part of a thaw under President Trump. Industry skepticism runs deep. To hear President Vladimir V. Putin tell it, Russia’s economy has thrived despite Western sanctions, becoming more self-sufficient and reorienting toward new markets. But there is one company that Russian officials make no secret about missing: Boeing. The aviation giant’s planes play a critical role in Russia’s economy, connecting its far-flung cities. Until the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Boeing sold and maintained planes in Russia and operated a major design center there. It also bought much of its titanium, a key material for modern jets, from Russia. As President Trump pursues a striking rapprochement with Moscow, the company has emerged as an early test of whether American businesses that fled Russia early in the war will return. Boeing has said nothing in public about whether it is considering going back, and it declined to comment for this article. But the obstacles are considerable. Mr. Trump has so far kept in place American sanctions on Russian aviation, which give him leverage with Mr. Putin as he pursues negotiations to end the war. And there is widespread skepticism in U.S. aviation circles about the business sense of Boeing returning to Russia, a reflection of the enormous damage that three years of war have done to the country’s standing in the American corporate world.

“If given the choice between re-entering Russia and drinking bleach,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant, “I’m sure that that glass of bleach is looking mighty good.”

For the most part, Russia’s economy has surprised outside observers with its ability to withstand sanctions and pivot away from the West. Chinese cars have replaced Western ones. Russian train factories that worked with the German company Siemens continued production on their own. A Russian payment system filled the gap left by Visa and Mastercard. #Boeing #Russia #sanctions Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Some Democrats in Congress are starting to talk about impeachment Since Jan. 20, many have spoken of a constitutional crisis, the wanton lawlessness of a president trying to make himself a king in all but name. But by and large, elected Democrats have bent over backward to avoid using a certain word. Their alarm bells ring hollow when the unavoidable implication is left unstated. But it’s time to stop beating around the bush: Trump must be impeached and removed from office. A few members of Congress understand this and are willing to say it. It’s a start, and one where public pressure is essential. It’s more effective than you might think at breaking the silence. A group of self-organized volunteers has been recruiting voters in every House district and started simply asking congressional offices. “Operation Anti-King,” they fittingly call it. In addition to Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has already called for impeachment — and has done so many times since Trump’s first term — they quickly found seven more willing to go on the record: Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Maxine Dexter of Oregon, Sam Liccardo and Maxine Waters of California, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, and Hank Johnson of Georgia. In a statement to this group, Dexter made the obvious connection:

“Donald Trump’s cruel, chaotic, and unlawful actions have put our democracy at risk. ... I will not stand by while our democracy is eroded. I support impeachment because no one is above the law.” Bonamici likewise affirmed her support because he is “violating the Constitutional rights of people in this country and ignoring the rule of law.”

There are a number of objections behind the conventional wisdom against talk of impeachment, but they don’t hold up. The theory of a backlash in Trump’s favor has no real evidence. There was no such reaction against his first impeachment, after which Democrats went on to win a trifecta in the next election, or the second, after which Democrats beat expectations even with an unpopular president in 2022. Similarly, the idea that it’s “too soon” since last year’s election would amount to giving presidents license to destroy the Constitution so long as they do it promptly. #Trump #Democrats #Impeachment Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️ Technological and Currency Independence Thanks to five years of export controls, China has made significant progress in producing goods without American technology. Despite market concerns, China can stabilize its economy without a major devaluation. Slight weakening of the yuan helps absorb tariff pressure, while stimulus policies are expected to attract new capital inflows and support the exchange rate. Meanwhile in the U.S... America faces rising inflation due to tariffs on Chinese consumer goods. The U.S. relies on Chinese industrial products three times more than China relies on U.S. components. This is already hurting business investment. While China faces a demand problem it can fix, the U.S. is suffering a supply shock that could lead to stagflation — which cannot be resolved without changing economic direction. Conclusion: The Wrong Battle If Trump’s goal is to make Beijing bow to American dominance, the result will only be disappointment and domestic frustration. #Trump #Tariffs #China Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Financial Times: The U.S. Needs China More Than China Needs the United States ✏️✏️✏️✏️✏️ Tariff Chaos and the Illusion of Control After a week of tariff turmoil, the global economy isn’t significantly worse off than when the measures were first introduced. Trump has backed away from his harshest "reciprocal" tariffs, yet 10% minimum tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports, 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, and astronomical 145% tariffs on Chinese goods remain in place. The White House is trying to portray this mess as a strategic effort to combat Chinese mercantilism. But such a strategy is doomed to fail. Understanding why requires looking at Trump’s true objectives. What Trump Really Wants The official reasons for the tariffs range from combating unfair trade, eliminating the trade deficit, reindustrializing America, to confronting China. But these explanations often contradict each other, conflict with other policies, or are completely unrealistic. The clearest explanation is this: Trump is driven by the desire for control, and tariffs are his tool of choice. His trade war is aimed at dismantling the rules of the global economy that limit the unilateral exercise of American — and presidential — power. Why Tariffs Are Trump’s Favorite Weapon There are two key reasons: 1. Trump believes the rest of the world will pay any price to access the U.S. market. 2. More importantly, he can personally impose or cancel tariffs on any country, at any time, and for any reason — without congressional approval. His primary goal is to assert dominance and force other nations to submit. Those who comply get lenient terms; those who resist are punished severely. The World Responds with Distrust Most countries now understand that economic justifications offered by Trump’s team are just a cover. As long as he remains in power, the U.S. cannot be trusted, and no rational leader will join its crusade against China. The Bond Market Is Trump’s Real Opponent The second reason Trump’s trade war is failing lies within his own borders. His retreat from reciprocal tariffs last Wednesday showed that markets, not Beijing, are capable of shutting down his aggression. The backlash from the U.S. bond market forced him to step back. Trump has now lost negotiating leverage. He can’t raise tariffs again without risking another market revolt. Other nations will now aim to make quick deals — giving only symbolic concessions while maintaining ties with China. China Is More Resilient Than It Seems At first glance, China looks worse off: it’s lost a major export market and appears diplomatically isolated. But it is well-prepared for a long economic standoff. China can replace U.S. demand with domestic consumption, which has been weak due to tight monetary policy and overinvestment in production. Now, Xi Jinping is serious about stimulating consumer demand. #Trump #Tariffs #China Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Majority of Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States In a new survey conducted by Verian in Denmark for Berlingske and Sermitsiaq, Greenlanders are asked:

"Do you want Greenland to leave Denmark and become part of the United States?"

The results show that 85% of Greenlanders do not want to leave the Realm and become part of the United States, while 6% want to leave the Danish Realm and become part of the United States, whereas the remaining 9% are undecided. 56% of Greenlanders answer that they would vote yes to Greenlandic independence if a referendum were held today, 28% would vote no, and 17% do not know what they would vote for. The uncertainty on 'Yes' is +/- 4.4 percentage points and on 'No' +/- 4.0 percentage points. This is the result of the latest opinion poll from Verian for the news media Berlingske and the media house Sermitsiaq about Greenlanders' attitudes to, among other things, the Danish Realm and independence. The survey also shows that 45% of Greenlanders do not want independence if the standard of living is negatively affected (either a slight or a more significant negative influence). Here, the uncertainty is +/- 4.4 percentage points. The survey also shows that a small majority agree or mostly agree that Denmark should continue to support Greenland financially, even if the country becomes independent. #Greenland #Poll Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Americans Now Split on Trump's Tariffs as Most Expect Higher Prices and a Short-Term Recession As President Trump unveils a sweeping global tariff policy, a new HarrisX poll reveals a sharply divided American public, with growing concerns about inflation, market volatility, and a looming recession. While half of Americans view tariffs as an effective tool, many are bracing for short-term financial pain and a slow recovery. According to the nationally representative survey of more than 1850 registered voters, 72% expect the new tariffs will lead to higher consumer prices — a concern shared across party lines. Large majorities of Democrats (84%), Independents (73%), and even Republicans (62%) anticipate rising costs. Nearly as many voters (71%) believe the tariffs will trigger a short-term recession. That concern cuts across party lines, with 86% of Democrats, 69% of Independents, and 60% of Republicans expecting the tariffs to lead to an economic downturn. Americans are also split on the long-term impact of tariffs. Just under half (47%) believe tariffs will ultimately lead to economic growth, while 53% predict economic decline. Among Republicans, optimism remains high — 76% expect growth — but that contrasts sharply with Democrats, 75% of whom expect the opposite.

"Americans are worried about what tariffs will mean for their wallets in the near term, but there's still hope among many that this policy could pay off in the long run,"

said Dritan Nesho, CEO and Chief Pollster at HarrisX.

"The data highlights both economic anxiety and a belief in the strategic leverage of tariffs, although that is shrinking."

Consumer behavior also reflects growing economic caution. While most Americans continue to buy everyday essentials — 77% are purchasing groceries and 72% beverages as usual — many are pulling back on discretionary or big-ticket items. Fewer than half say they are buying household appliances (43%), upgrading their phones (44%), buying new cars (29%), or purchasing luxury goods (27%) as they usually would. While voters are bracing for short-term economic pain, business decision-makers and investors are somewhat more optimistic about navigating the road ahead. Seventy-nine percent of business decision-makers expect the tariffs to lead to a short-term recession — even higher than the general public — but they are also more confident in the markets and long-term opportunities. Fifty-eight percent say it's a good time to invest in the stock market, compared to just 37% of voters overall. Two-in-three (66%) business decision-makers also support imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries that tax American goods. #Tariffs #Poll #Recession Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Trump's proposed pharmaceutical tariffs could drive up costs, lead to drug shortages At a political fundraising dinner on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump said he plans to announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals soon.

"We're going to tariff our pharmaceuticals, and once we do that, they come rushing back into our country, because we're the big market,"

Trump said at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington, D.C.

"And when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places, because ... most of their product is sold here, and they're going to be opening up their plants all over the place in our country — we're going to be announcing that,"

he continued. Although Trump recently implemented a 90-day pause on some tariffs, he said Wednesday he's still serious about putting tariffs on pharmaceuticals to boost U.S. drug manufacturing.

"We're going to put tariffs on the pharmaceutical companies, and they're going to all want to come back,"

Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office. The raw ingredients of almost all medications are made overseas, even for drugs that are manufactured in the U.S., meaning tariffs could drive up the costs of several medications including over-the-counter painkillers as well as antibiotics, heart medications and asthma drugs. Pharmacy and economics experts said such tariffs could also lead to drug shortages and could even potentially stall research and development. Experts say any added costs would be passed onto the consumer. Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at The Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan policy research center, told ABC News that the average household spent an average of $4,200 on prescription drugs in 2024. That figure includes a combination of out-of-pocket costs and spending covered by insurance. Tedeschi said an assessment from The Budget Lab found that a tariff of 25%, for example, would raise pharmaceutical prices by 15% on average.

"Based on our assessment … costs for prescription drugs would rise by an average of around $600 per year per household in the United States,"

he said.

"Now, not all of that would necessarily be out-of-pocket for the average family … but if a family is not paying that full $600, their insurance company is paying the other part of it."

He went on,

"So even if families don't see a price increase that they are responsible for, they may end up paying higher insurance premiums [and] higher co-pays as a result of this."

Tariffs could also impact generic drug makers operating on thin margins, according to Dr. Erin Fox, associate chief pharmacy officer at University of Utah Health who tracks drug shortages. Specifically, Fox told ABC News she is worried about drugs that are already often in shortage, including injectable medications. This includes drugs like lidocaine, which is used to numb pain. She said medicines that people take every day, usually in pill form, are less likely to be likely not going to be as impacted in the near term because there are many suppliers of those products.

"An injectable product might only have two or three [suppliers] max,"

she said. Fox said most generic companies have six- to 12-month supply of their active pharmaceutical ingredients on hand, and some companies may have bought some extra products in anticipation of these tariffs.

"This isn't going to be an immediate effect, necessarily, that we're going to see, but when it comes time to buy that next batch of raw materials, will it have a high tariff, and will the company be able to afford to do that?"

Fox said. #Tariffs #drugs #forecast Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Economics professor puts odds of stagflation in US at 100%. Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College, told CNN that, as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, the probability of stagflation in the US is “100%.” While others have stressed this scenario could be averted, it would only happen if Trump abandons his signature trade policy. The origins of “stagflation”: In 1965, when the British economy was slumping while inflation was simultaneously rising, a Conservative politician declared that the country had “the worst of both worlds. Britain had “not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other, but both of them together. We have a sort of ‘stagflation,’” Ian Macleod told Parliament. His portmanteau described the doomsday scenario for central bankers globally — and one that has reared its head in the United States once more following the introduction of Trump’s tariffs. Usually, inflation rises when an economy runs hot and employment is high. Conversely, inflation slows when an economy stagnates or contracts. But when inflation rises even while an economy is weak, you get “stagflation” — the worst of both worlds. If they raise interest rates to tame inflation, this will dampen demand and weaken the economy further. If they cut rates to stimulate demand and economic growth, inflation will risk spiraling. These are the choices the Federal Reserve may have to make in the weeks and months ahead. #forecast #economy #stagflation Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸