Category: Trump

Art Of The Deal

Trump should write a book.

What I find amazing is Trump runs the same play over and over again and people are surprised by it every time. Guy you should have figured out what the game plan is by now.

Even more amazing is people haven’t figured out the strategy of ask for incredible things and fall back to getting big gains. Like I see people say he collapsed on Chinese tariffs and I’m like he nearly doubled them and they stand at alike 40%. If that is collapsing then I wish every country would “collapse” on Chinese tariffs. Like seriously don’t threaten me with a good time.

Orson responds, in the comments;

This guy doesn’t fully grasp it either. He’s trying to sound like it’s a simple concept that his BIG BUSINESS BRAIN grasps, but you peons do not. He’s missing a very, very, very important factor. Leverage. If Trump has leverage, he uses it. If he doesn’t have leverage, he builds it. If there is no leverage to be had he sells potential. Don’t believe me?

In the Mail

I received a rather bizarre message from an acquaintance of mine in the Czech Republic. He considers himself to be very well informed. Here’s what he wrote:

Hey, Robert. I need to ask you a question. You’ll always be my great friend no matter what. But I’m just curious how you feel about this now.

I’m obviously talking about your clown president. I think you’ve been a supporter of him in the past, right?

As a man who has roots in Europe & lived a large part of your life in Canada, how it sounds to you what Trump says about US friends and how he treats Canada, Greenland and Europe?

Talking about annexation of Canada, about invading Greenland etc.

Continue reading →

“If you cannot defend yourself, then how can you possibly defend Greenland?”

At Conservative Treehouse;

What most people don’t understand about the strategically worded letter to Norway’s leftist Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, is how President Trump has just framed Støre as the defacto head of Brussels, representing the interests of the EU toward the framework of Greenland.

It’s not about the Nobel Peace Prize; it’s something far bigger. President Trump did not initiate contact with PM Støre; the contact was first made by Støre calling President Trump to notify him that their position was to defend Greenland against any threat from a non-NATO nation. President Trump asked how Norway was going to secure that pledge and Støre had no response.

The days of US taxpayers paying to defend territories that others extract wealth from seem numbered.

It’s ridiculous that Europe was more than happy to accept 81 years of free-of-charge American security guarantees, but the moment the United States needs land to maintain that protection, the answer suddenly becomes no.

Elbows Up Cheerleaders

In an expanding economy, mergers and acquisitions can streamline productive capacity to meet growing demand. In a shrinking economy, the purpose of a merger is often to sweep up the pieces of a dying business to salvage whatever is left of their capital. I’m not so sure that the upbeat tone  of the article reflects the reality of the Canadian economy.

Canadian dealmaking activity is expected to pick up this year, driven by nation-building efforts and a stronger business outlook, according to a new survey by KPMG Canada.

Thirty-three per cent of business leaders polled indicated plans to make a major acquisition in the next 18 months to capitalize on potential growth opportunities, the survey released on Monday found.

New Rules

@HansMahncke


This is remarkable to watch on multiple levels. There is the diplomatic dimension, where an American Under Secretary of State is not supposed to call a spade a spade. But when the people demanding deference to those outdated conventions are the very same elites who fear their own citizens and suppress them through increasingly tyrannical censorship, they have forfeited any claim to courtesy. You can almost picture German elites getting whiplash just from reading it.

Then there is the tactical side of it. Sarah Rodgers knows perfectly well that what she is saying is not permitted speech in Germany. That is precisely why she says it so bluntly and forcefully, almost daring the German government to react. The point is the opposite of subtle persuasion (that did not work). Instead, she’s inviting the German government to lash out at her, which would make their repression even more visible and self-incriminating.

There is also a deeper historical message embedded in this. The United States did not sacrifice blood and treasure to liberate Germany after World War II so that it could quietly slide back into old authoritarian habits under a different pretext. And if it insists on doing so, it should not assume American indulgence or silence. That era is over.

Tax Trouble

If the US is going to eliminate income taxes or fund all the things that the administration is proposing, the revenue stream seems to be going in the wrong direction. What’s more is that reliance on tariffs for tax revenue offers a very obvious escape route: if you can produce something with inputs sourced solely in the US, you don’t pay tariffs at all. As that option broadens, tax revenue will logically go down, not up.

The release brings the total revenue collected in 2025 to $264.05 billion. It’s a historically high annual total — but also the second straight monthly decline after Trump dialed back key tariffs last November.

The peak for the year was October’s monthly haul of $31.35 billion. The first decline then came in November, with $30.76 billion in customs duties collected that month.

Is Our Diversities Learing?

Conservative Treehouse;

In a remarkable approach, Secretary Bessent announced during a Fox News interview that a regional targeting effort is now underway that will block anyone who receives public assistance from sending money overseas (remittances to foreign countries). This is not a fee or tax on the remittance, or financial transaction; this is a complete block of their ability to send money overseas. Anyone receiving public assistance will not be able to send money to foreign lands.

Yes, it seems like this is initially going to be subject to the honest admission of the money sender. However, with the IRS reviewing each transfer and cross referencing to public assistance records anyone who attempts to work around this regulation will be subject to federal laws on financial fraud, wire service fraud and potentially money laundering.

The interagency focus will eventually go nationwide, as with the new USAO position that focuses on public assistance fraud; but for now, that focused effort will target Minnesota. Minneapolis will be the beta test for a national rollout.

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