Free Republic

Washington -- The infighting and backstabbing that plagued President Donald Trump’s first term have returned as a threat to his second, with deepening fissures over trade, national security and questions of personal loyalty. The latest turmoil threatens to engulf the Pentagon, where Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed out top advisers and faces fresh controversy over sharing sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen outside of classified channels. A former Pentagon spokesperson who was ousted last week wrote in Politico that Trump should fire Hegseth for presiding over a “full-blown meltdown.” The interpersonal drama is not - at least yet -...

China is doubling down: China has just announced that they will be pulling back from US private equity investments. Chinese state-backed funds are halting new investments in US PE firms due to government pressure. According to PE executives, funds like China Investment Corporation (CIC) have already begun withdrawing planned commitments. Chinese investors are also avoiding US-linked deals, even when managed by non-US based PE funds. Just 24 hours ago, China warned they would retaliate against countries that cooperate with the US in ways that compromise their interests. It's very clear what's happening here: China is seeking to isolate the US...

China has halted exports of seven critical rare earth elements to the United States, a move that threatens to disrupt supply chains across key American industries, including automotive, semiconductor, and aerospace sectors. China’s Ministry of Commerce recently added seven rare earth elements—including dysprosium, terbium, and lutetium—to its restricted export list. These elements are essential for manufacturing high-performance magnets used in electric vehicles, advanced weaponry, and consumer electronics. NY Times reported:

The guidance that was issued also excludes flash drives and memory cards from the new tariffs President Trump exempted phones, computers and chips from his new tariffs on Friday. The guidance that was issued also excludes flash drives and memory cards. Trump has imposed 145% tariffs on imports from China. He paused further tariff actions on other countries in favor of a 10% baseline tariff.

Just hours after implementing tariffs of varying levels on trade partners worldwide, President Donald Trump said he would pause the 'reciprocal' import taxes for 90 days. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the pause would be effective immediately and the base tariff of 10% will still be enforced. He said he felt the pause was needed because more than 75 countries had contacted his administration to make trade deals.

SUMMARY Donald Trump announces a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of countries - but hikes levies on China to 125% There will now be a universal tariff of 10% on all countries' goods, except for China He says the higher rate for China is because of "the lack of respect that China has shown to the world's markets" Earlier on Wednesday, China announced an 84% tariff on US imports after Donald Trump imposed a 104% tariff on Chinese goods entering the US Stock markets surged after Trump made his announcement - the president appears to have blinked, writes...

President Donald Trump has threatened to slap additional 50 per cent tariffs on China if it doesn’t withdraw its retaliatory measures, pushing the possible level of tariffs it faces on exports to the US to over 100 per cent. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said retaliatory Chinese tariffs on US imports of 34 per cent represented an “abuse” that added to harsh taxes US exporters were already facing. Current tariffs faced by China are estimated to be at 54 per cent when Trump’s initial duties on imports are taken into account. “If China does not withdraw...

I cannot take credit for the following but I saw this comment posted on another forum and thought I would post it here since it describes the best in the smallest amount of space why the tariffs work and how they work: "Trump is trying to crash the stock market at least 20%, causing a flight into treasuries, this will cause the fed to slash interest rates so he can refinance the debt to near 0% and cause a deflationary spiral which will lower the cost of everything. He also intends to use tariffs as an incentive for companies to...

President Trump stood by his wide-scale tariffs, calling them a “beautiful thing to behold” that will eventually be largely supported even as the stock futures dropped Sunday evening. “They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold. The Surplus with these Countries has grown during the ‘Presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump blasted out on Truth Social Sunday night as he attempted to justify the action he took against around 90 nations last week. “We are going to reverse it, and reverse it QUICKLY. Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are...

Military force NOT ruled out by Trump to take over Greenland.

A body language expert described President Trump as an 'alpha male' who was in a state of 'aggressive arousal' during his Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Judi James decoded the historic showdown as the two world leaders engaged in a tense war of words in front of cameras on Friday - and Vice President JD Vance played the 'wingman.' Speaking with DailyMail.com on Friday following the press conference, James said the encounter revealed 'alpha male Trump in [a] state of aggressive arousal'. James said the commander-in-chief had was asserting his authority over the situation. She also waded...

Trump’s showing who’s boss, and it’s a sight worth cheering. White House folks told Fox President Trump kicked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the Oval Office—ended a heated meeting early and told him to beat it, no polite goodbye here. Reports say Trump had enough of Zelensky’s lip, shouting, “Have you ever said thank you?” over $200 billion in U.S. aid since 2022—money that’s kept Ukraine breathing. It’s live today—February 28, 2025—and Trump’s “You don’t have the cards right now” line proves he’s playing to win. The sit-down started smooth—11 a.m. EST, handshakes, the usual fluff—then Trump turned it...

The British paper The Telegraph claims to have has access to a draft of the ‘pre-decisional contract’, sent by the US to Volodymyr Zelensky, dealing with a demand for a $500bn ‘payback’ from Ukraine for the aid already delivered. The document, marked ‘Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb 7 2025, has caused ‘consternation and panic’ in Kiev, according to the Telegraph report. The writer Ambrose Evans Pritchard is ‘shocked’ by the draconian terms, calls it ‘economic colonization of Ukraine’, a ‘burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved’. (“It states that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment...

Is it possible to be around narcissistic people and not lose your power? Especially when it's your mom, dad, ex, or boss who’s acting toxic? Today, Mel is joined by Rebecca Zung, an expert on narcissism and a globally recognized high-conflict negotiator. Rebecca is also a top-ranked trial lawyer who has studied narcissism so that she could win against them in the courtroom. She’s written the playbook, SLAY the Bully: How to Negotiate with A Narcissist and Win. She is here to make the case that you CAN stay in power no matter how toxic the people are around you....

Shortly after Brittney Griner landed in Texas early Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said more prisoner exchanges are possible between the two countries. Putin said “everything is possible” when asked about future swaps, noting that “compromises have been found” to clear the exchange of the WNBA star for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout. “We aren’t refusing to continue this work in the future,” the Russian strongman added after a summit in Kyrgyzstan. “Whether this could set stage for a dialogue with the U.S. is a separate issue,” the leader said. “We didn’t set the task to move from those talks...

The stance of President Volodymyr Zelensky on the war with Russia remains unhindered and fundamental, i.e. the recognition of Ukraine’s international borders as of 1991. This was stressed by Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, at a briefing on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “The new topic of powerful special information operations is that Ukraine is allegedly refusing to engage in or losing negotiations. I’d like to remind you that the core position of the Ukrainian president is that Ukraine must be recognized within its international borders as of 1991. This is the first thing....

I’m impatient, as I expect most American Thinker readers are as well. We have been promised a coming storm that will be biblical, or a Kraken released on Deep State conspirators. Despite Attorney General Barr acknowledging spygate as “one of the greatest travesties in American history,” there has not yet been a reckoning. A mid-level FBI attorney, Kevin Clinesmith, pled guilty to falsifying a document which became one of the lynchpins of a FISA warrant on Carter Page and subsequent spying on Donald Trump and his campaign, but he has yet to be sentenced. His co-conspirators are writing books, teaching...

Bill Barr started his term as President Trump’s second attorney general maligned by the left and is ending it under attack from both sides. But the man is a class act who has consistently done the nation great service. Barr announced his resignation, with a departure date of Dec. 23, in a classy letter to the president. Barr has done all he can to ensure those who abused their power to harm first candidate and then President Trump will be held accountable. In October, he made John Durham, the former US attorney he’d tasked with investigating the origins of the...

Attorney General William Barr announced his resignation on Monday in a letter to President Trump. In the letter, Barr massaged Trump's ego and announced he "will spend the next week wrapping up a few remaining matters important to the administration, and depart on December 23." The Wall Street Journal reported over the last few days that Barr personally ordered the DOJ to keep the Hunter Biden investigation under wraps. From the WSJ on Monday, "Barr Kept Hunter Biden Probes From Public to Avoid Election Politics": Attorney General William Barr, in the weeks before November's election, instructed prosecutors and senior colleagues...

Overnight President Trump responded to the Supreme Court’s action to threw out his case with Texas and twenty states over the absolutely rigged election of 2020: No court will judge the President’s case on its merits: