Trump suggests China wants Dem elected in 2020 to secure better trade terms

President Trump shared his take on the stalled U.S. trade talks with China on Saturday, suggesting Beijing may be waiting until the 2020 presidential election to see if a Democrat gets elected to secure more favorable terms.
“I think that China felt they were being beaten so badly in the recent negotiation that they may as well wait around for the next election, 2020, to see if they could get lucky & have a Democrat win - in which case they would continue to rip-off the USA for $500 Billion a year...." the president wrote.
Trump’s remarks came a day after another round of talks between Washington and Beijing ended with no trade pact. In follow-up tweets, the president said it would be wise for China to agree to a trade deal soon, before predicting it would face “far worse” terms if the impasse continues.
"....The only problem is that they know I am going to win (best economy & employment numbers in U.S. history, & much more), and the deal will become far worse for them if it has to be negotiated in my second term. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting BIG TARIFFS!" he posted.
In response to a lack of progress between both sides last week, the U.S. imposed further tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and threatened more tariffs on remaining Chinese products worth $325 billion.
China’s top negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, said Friday that both sides have agreed to more trade talks in Beijing, Bloomberg reported. Speaking to Chinese media, he said the U.S. must remove all extra tariffs to clear the way for the possibility of an agreement. China has vowed retaliation but has not released specifics.
“For the interest of the people of China, the people of U.S. and the people of the whole world, we will deal with this rationally,” Liu said. “But China is not afraid, nor are the Chinese people,” adding that “China needs a cooperative agreement with equality and dignity.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration would release details of the tariffs on $325 billion in Chinese imports on Monday.
A trade deal seemed imminent, until last week when China sent American trade negotiators a cable with redacted text that both sides had been working on. To the American, the modification signaled Beijing’s walking back of its earlier commitments made during months of negotiations.

In this March 5, 2019 photo, a cargo ship arrives at the Port of Tacoma, in Tacoma, Wash. U.S. and Chinese negotiators resumed trade talks Friday, May 10, 2019, under increasing pressure after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing promised to retaliate. (Associated Press)

The divide between both sides has not stalled the U.S. economy. The GDP rose at a 3.2 percent annualized rate, even as a five-week partial government shutdown affected some sectors. Unemployment is at a historic low and 213,000 jobs are being created monthly.
Trump, who is seeking re-election on the heels of a booming economy, signaled Friday that he is no rush to secure a deal. Over Twitter, he proposed using income from the import taxes to buy agricultural products from American farmers.
Chinese state media said China would give in on its core interests, Reuters reported.
“China clearly requires that the trade procurement figures should be realistic; the text must be balanced and expressed in terms that are acceptable to the Chinese people and do not undermine the sovereignty and dignity of the country,” the People’s Daily newspaper said in a commentary on Saturday.

Mad magazine, Buttigieg bite back at Trump mockery

Mad magazine got in on the action between President Trump and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Saturday, after Trump compared his young political rival to a cartoon mascot from the venerable humor mag.
First, Trump took aim at Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Ind., at a “Make America Great Again” rally on Wednesday calling him “Boot edge edge.”
“He has a great chance, don't he? He will be great,” Trump said sarcastically. “Representing us against President Xi of China, that will be great. That will be great. I want to be in that room and I want to watch that one.”
But Trump was far from finished with the young Dem. The president, who has repeatedly assigned unflattering nicknames to political foes, dug into Mad magazine history to find an apt one for the 37-year-old Buttigieg.
On Friday, in an interview with Politico, Trump declared that "Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States.”

Alfred E. Neuman has been the official cartoon face of Mad since 1956.

Neuman is the cartoon mascot and cover boy of the magazine, known for his red hair, the gap in his teeth and the catchphrase "What, me worry?"
But Mad dates back to the 1950s, and Buttigieg, the youngest candidate in the 2020 race, responded by saying he didn't really get Trump’s reference. (The character became a magazine icon under editor and publisher Al Feldstein, who was in charge of Mad from 1955-1984.)
“I’ll be honest, I had to Google that,” Buttigieg told Politico on Friday. “I guess it’s just a generational thing. I didn’t get the reference. It’s kind of funny, I guess.
"But he’s also the president of the United States and I’m surprised he’s not spending more time trying to salvage this China deal,” he said. That was a pointed reference to economic talks with Beijing that ended Friday without reaching a conclusive deal.
For its part, Mad couldn't resist adding its own voice to the political back-and-forth with a tweet about Buttigieg's lack of knowledge about Alfred E.: “Who’s Pete Buttigieg? Must be a generational thing.”
About Neuman:
"I want a definitive portrait of this kid,” Feldstein recalled in a 2007 interview with AV/TV Club. “I don't want him to look like an idiot — I want him to be loveable and have an intelligence behind his eyes. But I want him to have this devil-may-care attitude, someone who can maintain a sense of humor while the world is collapsing around him."
As for Buttigieg, though he was the butt of a Trump joke that may have eluded him because of his age, he has consistently polled higher than other, better-known Democratic contenders, including Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, making him a promising pick for the 2020 elections and raising the specter of future references to Mad's gap-toothed mascot.

Mike Pence warns Christian grads to prepare for ridicule from ‘secular left’

Vice President Mike Pence had a sobering message Saturday as he delivered a commencement address at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
Pence warned graduating seniors of the Christian university that they needed to prepare for persecution from critics he described as “the secular left.”
“Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs,” the vice president warned, according to the Washington Times. “So as you go about your daily life, just be ready.”
As an example, Pence pointed to a “bevy of Hollywood liberals” who’ve been waging a boycott effort against the state of Georgia, whose Republican governor, Brian Kemp, recently signed a strict pro-life “heartbeat” abortion bill into law.
The vice president noted that strident criticism against Christians is relatively new in American experience.
“Throughout most of American history, it's been pretty easy to call yourself Christian,” Pence told the gathering, according to USA Today. “It didn’t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible.”
According to the Christian Post, Pence said his wife Karen was subjected to “harsh attacks by the media and the secular left” when she returned to teaching at a Christian elementary school earlier this year.
“These attacks on Christian education are un-American,” Pence said, according to the Post, adding that President Trump and his administration have taken “decisive action to protect religious liberty.”
In 2017, Liberty University was the first college where President Trump delivered a commencement address since taking office. The school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., has been a staunch supporter of the president.

Iran Cartoons

Cabinet members attend rare meeting at CIA headquarters amid Iranian threat

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:44 PM PT — Friday, May 10, 2019

Details of a secret meeting are beginning to surface, while Iran continues to retaliate against U.S. efforts for denuclearization.
Last week, various important officials — including National Security Adviser John Bolton, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — met together to discuss matters in Iran. The cabinet officials met outside the White House Situation Room, which is reportedly extremely rare.
The National Security Council would not comment as to what was discussed during the meeting, but sources have said it was likely about covert operations given the meeting’s location at CIA headquarters.
The officials met just days after the U.S. fast-tracked an aircraft carrier and bombers to the Persian Gulf. According to sources close to the matter, Intelligence was warned Tehran approved proxy forces to attack U.S. personnel and assets in the region.

President Trump confirmed it was a matter of national and foreign security.
“Well, they were threatening…we have information that you don’t want to know about,’ he stated. “They were very threatening…we have to have great security for this country and for a lot of other places.”
It’s been one year since President Trump left the Iran Nuclear agreement, which offered Tehran relief on sanctions in exchange for a curbed nuclear program. Instead, the president took a hard-line approach with the Middle Eastern country and reintroduced tough penalties in hopes to put enough pressure on them to stop their nuclear program.
However, Iran has only scaled back on their obligations to the nuclear deal. On Wednesday, they threatened to resume uranium production unless other global powers in the pact agreed to help them skirt the sanctions.
“Under the terms of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action we agreed that we would keep enrichment to the level of 3.67,” stated Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. “We will stop adhering to this and there will no longer be a set level for enrichment of uranium.”

Worshippers chant slogans against the United States and Israel during a rally after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, May 10, 2019. A top commander in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Friday that Tehran will not talk with the United States, an Iranian news agency reported — a day after President Donald Trump said he’d like Iranian leaders to “call me.” (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hours after the announcement, a White House official responded saying the U.S. is willing to put more sanctions on Iran very soon if they follow through. Analysts say more sanctions could be detrimental for Iran’s economy, which is already doing poorly.
Earlier this week, the National Security Council stated the White House is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but they are fully prepared to fight back if prompted by an attack on the U.S. or its allies.
President Trump said he is still willing to negotiate deals with Iran if they abandon their nuclear program.

Concha: Some press covering Trump's leaked tax returns showing 'the worst kind of bias'

Media reporter Joe Concha said Friday that some of those in the media who are covering the contents of President Trump's 1985-1994 tax returns are exhibiting "the worst kind of bias."
Concha said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that many outlets are expressing a "bias of omission" in neglecting to report that New York City newspapers and other outlets comprehensively reported on those turbulent times for the former real estate mogul.
"You don't get the other side of the story, which is [that] he was very transparent about it on TV and in books," Concha said. "You're being sold a bill of goods here that this is a new revelation - when it was anything but new."
Concha added that anyone who watched "The Apprentice" would've seen the opening segment, in which Trump spoke about losing billions of dollars and yet was able to "come back."
"This was his whole story," Carlson said. "He bragged about it endlessly... This was his redemption story."
Concha said that the reporting on the tax returns often exhibited the same "means to an end" mentality that was prevalent in the aftermath of the 2016 "Access Hollywood" tape leak.
On that recording, which was recorded several years prior, Trump is heard making coarse remarks about women to Billy Bush
"Everybody concentrated, and rightly so, on the contents of [the tape]. But then there was another part of that story: How exactly did that tape get out of NBC and into the hands of the Washington Post, two days before a presidential debate...," Concha said.

Giuliani cancels Ukraine trip, says he'd be 'walking into a group of people that are enemies of the US'

Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney, said Friday on "Fox News @ Night" that he will not be traveling to Ukraine as previously announced.
Giuliani, a former Republican mayor of New York City, said that he believed he would be "walking into a group of people that are enemies of the president, and in some cases, enemies of the United States and in one case, an already convicted person who has been found to be involved in assisting the Democrats with the 2016 investigation.
"There was a great fear that the new [Ukrainian] president would be surrounded by, literally, enemies of the president [of the United States] who were involved in that and people who are involved with other Democratic operatives," he told host Shannon Bream.
"I'm convinced from what I've heard from two very reliable people tonight that the president [Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky] is surrounded by people who are enemies of the president [Trump], and people who are -- at least [in] one case -- clearly corrupt and involved in this scheme," Giuliani said.
Giuliani said that his decisions had nothing to do with the upcoming 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Bream asked about "pushback" Giuliani received for announcing his original decision to go, including from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who demanded that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee open an inquiry into the situation.
"Rudolph Giuliani, the President’s personal lawyer, has apparently held meetings with Ukrainian officials in the United States and plans to travel to Ukraine for further discussions," Murphy wrote, in a letter to committee chairman Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, according to NBC News.
"As far as we know, none of these meetings are being coordinated with the U.S. State Department or other government agencies," Murphy wrote.
Giuliani said that he would welcome Murphy's proposed hearing, saying that he could lay out what he said was alleged "unbelievably incriminating evidence about members of the [Democratic National Committee], members of the Clinton campaign who were involved in gathering information there that was negative to the Trump campaign."
The former mayor also pointed to evidence that 2020 hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden improperly pressured Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the country's parliament to fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, in March 2016.
At the same time, Biden's son, Hunter, served on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings -- which was owned by an oligarch, Mykola Zlochevsky, who in turn was being investigated by that same prosecutor.
Shokin was soon voted out by the Ukrainian parliament. After leaving office, Biden admitted on video that he had threatened that the U.S. would pull $1 billion in loan guarantees unless Shokin was terminated.
"That stinks, the facts are stubborn, and eventually this is going to have to be investigated," Giuliani said, adding that in order to prevent any "political suggestions" he is going to "step back and just watch [the situation] unfold."
Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.

US-China trade talks end with no deal, but Trump puts faith in 'strong' relationship with Xi

Talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators ended Friday without a trade pact, prompting the Trump administration to possibly further expand its trade war with Beijing and tax its remaining imports, increasing the widening divide between the world's two largest economies.
In a statement Friday evening, a trade representative for the United States said Trump had “ordered us to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China, which are valued at approximately $300 billion.”
Earlier reports said the Trump administration had set a one-month deadline for China to agree to a trade deal or face the punitive tariffs. The threat of additional tariffs -- at 25 percent -- would be placed on $325 billion in Chinese goods, according to Bloomberg. News of the impasse comes hours after the U.S. imposed a second round of tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products as retaliation for China walking back on its commitments.

President Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands in Beijing on No. 9, 2017. After U.S.-China trade talks ended Friday without a deal, Trump said he maintained faith in his "strong" relationship with the Chinese leader. (Getty Images)
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"The relationship between President Xi and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue," Trump said after trade talks wrapped up. "In the meantime, the United States has imposed tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations!"
China’s top negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, said in a Friday interview on China-state television that both sides agreed to keep talking despite what he called “some temporary resistance and distractions."
“For the interest of the people of China, the people of U.S. and the people of the whole world, we will deal with this rationally,” Liu continued. He said negotiations had not broken down but added that China was not willing to make concessions on “principle issues," the New York Times reported.
China has vowed retaliation against the U.S. for the higher tariffs even as talks between the world’s two largest economies continue. No specifics have been released.
Trump justified the tariff hikes in a series of other tweets Friday.
“Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner - there is absolutely no need to rush - as Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S....,” he posted.
In other tweets, he said proposed using income from the tariffs to buy agricultural products from American farmers and that the U.S. sells China only about $100 billion in goods and services, which he called a "very big imbalance," Bloomberg reported.
Friday's trade escalation came as a surprise to many American businesses and consumers who thought a trade deal was within reach.

This graphic shows the increasing US-China trade deficit over time and compares with other top U.S. trade deficits from other counties. (Associated Press )

"Thousands of U.S. companies are affected, and some had millions of dollars on the line," Brian Keare, the field chief information officer at Incorta, who advises companies like Broadcom, Starbucks, and Apple, told Business Insider. "You literally had to make split-second decisions about your logistics and supply chain if you wanted to make sound financial decisions."
White House officials have stressed that both sides were eager to reach a deal. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told FOX Business last week that although they still had “more work to do,” enforcement mechanisms were “close to done.”
“If we get to a completed agreement it will have real enforcement provisions,” he said at the time.