Free Republic

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Frank Houston knows something about the longtime estrangement of white men from the Democratic Party. His family roots are in nearby Macomb County, the symbolic home of working-class Reagan Democrats who, distressed by economic and social tumult, decided a liberal Democratic Party had left them, not the other way around. Mr. Houston grew up in the 1980s liking Ronald Reagan but idolizing Alex P. Keaton, the fictional Republican teenage son of former hippies who, played by Michael J. Fox on the television series “Family Ties,” comically captured the nation’s conservative shift. But over time, Mr. Houston...

On Saturday, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was recently acclaimed as an even better leader than the legendary Steve Jobs, carved out a morning from his very busy schedule to deliver a commencement speech for the 2019 graduates of Tulane University in New Orleans. [cut] But as soon as Cook stepped up to the podium on Saturday, his message to Tulane’s graduates became the very opposite of what was expected of him—instead of presenting himself as a role model for the young graduates in the audience, Cook encouraged them to challenge older generations’ successes and to find their own. “In...

If you missed the live broadcast on Fox News Channel, you can catch it here.

The events in the above headline are not unrelated. Once the literally “no news” two-year news cycle of Trump-Russia collusion ended with the thump of the Mueller report finding no collusion and not recommending any obstruction of justice charges, it turns out Americans are OK with President Trump. More than OK. The Zogby Poll has Trump’s job approval at 51%, 3 points above Obama’s in the same poll at the same point in his first term. Again, it cannot be said enough, this is after two years of media hyperventilating over something that did not happen. Maybe more interesting: A...

The best tariff (tax on imported goods) equals zero — at least this is what standard economic theory says. However, such a rule is valid only when both trading partners are set at zero. If either side moves one iota above zero in tariffs, it makes its population pay for that move. So what happens when one party does not respond to an unfriendly move from zero to some non-zero tariff? In a short time frame, it hurts the side that makes such a move, but in the long run, it could eventually bankrupt businesses on the other side and,...

Iowa farmer Tim Bardole survived years of low crop prices and rising costs by cutting back on fertilizer and herbicides and fixing broken-down equipment rather than buying new. When President Donald Trump’s trade war with China made a miserable situation worse, Bardole used up any equity his operation had and started investing in hogs in hopes they’ll do better than crops. A year later, the dispute is still raging and soybeans hit a 10-year-low. But Bardole says he supports his president more today than he did when he cast a ballot for Trump in 2016, skeptical he would follow through...

... Atchison County, my small farming community in northwest Missouri, is home to about 5,000 people. One hundred thousand acres of soybeans are planted here each year. The drop in soybean prices has meant a loss of around $100 in potential income on each of those acres. Atchison County farmers will be looking at a decline of $10 million in gross income this year, or about $2,000 per capita. We won’t be buying many Whirlpool washers. Supporters of the tariffs begin each conversation with a litany of Chinese wrongs. They say China ignores the rules governing international trade and is...

(CNN)President Donald Trump lifted steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Friday, a move designed to ease one area of tensions even as the President's wider trade agenda faces an uncertain future. A joint statement from the US and Canadian governments said the tariffs would be lifted in two days, and added the two sides had agreed on monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to prevent steel dumping that might affect prices. The step clears a key hurdle for ratification of Trump's replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, though final passage of that pact remains uncertain as US...

Chinese state media may have launched a fierce propaganda campaign, placing the blame for the trade war squarely at the feet of the US government. But many manufacturers in China are keeping their heads below the parapet, for fear of reprisals from both inside and outside the country. Interviews reveal that many factory owners and operators feel that they are caught in the middle of forceful rhetoric from both sides in the trade war. And rather than face direct retaliation from officials, workers and suppliers in their home market, they are deciding to keep their counsel. Those companies that plan...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Wednesday his agency is still "in the throes of constructing" an aid package for farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs, but he is not prepared to say when it will be ready. Perdue said the Agriculture Department is reviewing feedback from producers about the strengths and weaknesses of last year's relief package, valued at up to $12 billion. This year's package could range between $15 billion and $20 billion, Perdue projected. He also predicted that the relief amount will be enough to offset losses that farmers are facing as a result of lower...

Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber said Monday that the company shuffled its operations over the past year in anticipation of high tariffs on imports from China. The home goods retailer made adjustments over the past year believing that tariffs on Chinese imports could reach 25%. “I think that you’re better off preparing for the worst,” she said in a one-on-one interview with “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer Monday in San Francisco. “Unfortunately that pessimism has come true, and we are more prepared.” Williams-Sonoma shifted some furniture production to Vietnam, Indonesia and the United States after President Donald Trump slapped 10% duties...

Two former top Obama administration officials are working on behalf of Huawei, even as the Chinese telecom giant faces a Trump administration that increasingly sees it as 'a threat to national security'..... President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday likely aimed at limiting the influence of Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies the U.S. intelligence community and law enforcement officials see as threats. But 'Samir Jain', 'Obama’s senior director for cybersecurity' policy for the National Security Council, registered as a lobbyist for Huawei in March 2019,.... and 'James Cole', who was Obama’s deputy attorney general from 2011 to 2015, has...

Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks in a move that gives the federal government broad powers to bar American companies from doing business with certain foreign suppliers — including the Chinese firm Huawei. Trump declared the emergency in the form of an executive order that says foreign adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities in U.S. telecommunications technology and services. It points to economic and industrial espionage as areas of particular concern. “The President has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to keep America...

China’s state-run media outlets have come out in force this week after keeping relatively quiet in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of tariff increases on Chinese goods. Whether it’s the mouthpiece of the Communist Party or the national television broadcaster, the latest commentary exudes confidence about China’s ability to stand up to the U.S. That’s in contrast to a more muted press in preceding weeks. In an environment of tight government control of what messages are allowed to surface, the shift can shed light into what Chinese leaders are thinking about the drawn out trade negotiations....

US President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday declaring a national emergency, barring the use of telecommunications equipment made by companies deemed a threat to national security… The Executive Order did not name China or Chinese companies specifically. However, separately, and soon after the order was signed, the US Commerce Department did just that. The Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its “Entity List” after it concluded that the Chinese company was engaged in activities “contrary to US national security or foreign policy interests”.

The Koch brothers’ — the billionaire plutocrats and GOP mega-donors — network of organizations are railing against President Trump’s tariffs on China to protect American workers and U.S. industry. This month, Trump hiked tariffs to 25 percent on about $200 billion worth of Chinese manufactured goods. Trump has also ordered trade officials to begin reviewing the process of increasing tariffs to 25 percent on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. In the wake of the latest round of tariffs, the Koch brothers’ organizations like the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the Libre Initiative demand that the Trump administration...

President Donald Trump’s trade war with China could cost the average American family of four up to $2,300 a year, according to a report on the effect of tariffs on the U.S. economy and workers. The study, by the economic consulting firm Trade Partnership Worldwide, assesses how tariffs will affect American consumers and the economy. According to the report, an average American family of four would pay $2,300 more in goods and services each year if Trump imposes a 25% tariff on all goods from China, as he has repeatedly threatened. If tariff levels remain where they are today, the...

* China is grappling with a widespread African swine flu (ASF) epidemic, a disease fatal to pigs but harmless to humans. * ASF's effects on pigs are gruesome. Symptoms include diarrhea, depression, and miscarriages. * The government is urging farmers to cull infected pigs to prevent the spread of the disease, which is in turn dramatically decreasing the country's pork production. * Dutch bank Rabobank estimates that the country will kill 150 million to 200 million pigs — or one third of the country's supply — this year. * China is the world's largest pork producer and consumer. The steep...

Steve Bannon said there is "no chance" President Donald Trump will back down as trade tensions rise between the U.S. and China. The former White House chief strategist praised Trump while speaking with CNBC's Squawk Box, depicting the president's efforts to alter financial relations with China as a necessary step to change the trade dynamic with a country he says has waged "economic war against the industrial democracies for 20 years." "This is going to set the world in one direction or the other for the next 20, 30, 40 or 50 years. And we've let this drift for so...

Stocks reversed early losses Wednesday amid reports that the Trump administration is planning to delay auto tariffs by up to six months. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6%, or 17.09 points, as of 12:33 p.m. ET, as the materials sector outperformed. The Dow (^DJI) rose 0.48%, or 123 points, while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) edged up 0.98%, or 75.73 points. On Wednesday, several news outlets reported that the Trump administration is planning to pause on implementing auto tariffs ahead of a May 18 deadline. The Commerce Department had compiled a report earlier this year that concluded Trump could justify imposing tariffs...