As Trump takes heat on China, Pelosi plans talk with US trade rep

Pelosi and the Democrats are constantly trying to undermine the President.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly scheduled to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday, a day after President Trump received harsh criticism from fellow Republicans who claim a trade war with China would drastically hurt farmers in Middle America.
Pelosi and Lighthizer are set to discuss the president’s new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, but the topic of the U.S. and China's tariff battle will likely come up in the conversation, two Democratic sources first told Politico.
“I wish him success in the negotiation,” Pelosi told reporters Monday, referring to Trump’s tactics with China. “But as I say, we have to use our leverage without antagonizing those who are on our side on this.”
Pelosi refused to consider the USMCA, the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement, until Democrat demands are satisfied, including the addition of enforcement measures, Politico reported. (USMCA stands for United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.)
Lighthizer reportedly agreed to the meeting to appease House Democrats, but the administration has refused to reopen negotiations with its neighbors to the north and south. Several Senate Republicans have also refused to sign the trade deal until Trump removes steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
The president faces growing opposition on both sides in Congress after the U.S. began increasing tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese goods last week. China retaliated by increasing tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods, and the stock market suffered its worst one-day performance in months Monday.
The White House is seemingly losing its grasp on Congress regarding trade, as several GOP senators spoke out against the president on Tuesday regarding his controversial agenda.
“I’m not sure if you talk to him face to face, he hears everything you say,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, regarding the president’s failed negotiation with China last week, according to the Washington Post.
Republican senators from the Farm Belt are fielding calls from angry constituents who say farmers are getting caught in the crossfire between the U.S. and China, the Post reported.
“Ultimately, nobody wins a trade war unless there is an agreement at the end, after which tariffs go away,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Soybean farmers, pork producers and a growing number of other agricultural interests, including cherry producers, corn growers and lobstermen, have complained of hurting profit margins as a result of the president’s trade dealings with China.
“Hopefully China will do us the honor of continuing to buy our great farm product, the best, but if not your Country will be making up the difference based on a very high China buy,” Trump said during an early morning tweetstorm Tuesday in an attempt to reassure the public.  “This money will come from the massive Tariffs being paid to the United States for allowing China, and others, to do business with us.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are looking for ways to provide farmers with a taxpayer bailout should the tariffs impose a critical effect on the U.S. agricultural industry before President’s Trump’s scheduled meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping in Japan next month, the Post reported.
Pelosi has the power to determine the fate of Trump’s trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, and could capitalize on growing congressional discontent with the president by pushing the vote past its summer deadline until the heat of 2020 debate.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

Treatment of Sarah Sanders still sparks hate mail, Red Hen co-owner admits year after Va. restaurant incident

Nearly a year after kicking White House press secretary Sarah Sanders out of a Virginia restaurant, the co-owner of the business -- who famously claimed she had "certain standards" to uphold -- says she has endured months of criticism and harassment as a result.
“The blowback was swift and aggressive," Stephanie Wilkinson, co-owner of the Red Hen in Lexington, writes in the Washington Post. "Within 24 hours, the restaurant’s phone line was hacked, my staff and I were doxxed, and threats to our lives, families and property were pouring in through every available channel.
“Protesters colonized the streets around the restaurant,” Wilkinson adds. She soon found herself stepping down as executive director of a local business group.
Wilkinson says she still receives hate mail over the June 2018 incident, in which she requested that Sanders and her party leave, but adds that the restaurant also has received support, including “thousands of dollars in donations in our honor to our local food pantry, our domestic violence shelter and first responders.”
The controversial treatment of Sanders and her fellow diners was part of a wave of public outbursts by liberal protesters directed at either prominent Republicans in Congress or members of President Trump's administration, in response to the administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy, which has since been rescinded.
Other targets who were harassed at restaurants last year included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Such demonstrations were egged on by Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who said at a public rally: “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere."
Other Democrats, such as then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., distanced themselves from the protests, calling for messages of “unity” instead.
Wikinson’s actions against Sanders were widely condemned by Trump supporters. Some bombarded the Red Hen’s Facebook and Yelp pages with one-star reviews and called for boycotts. Many pointed out that liberals don’t face the same level of backlash.
Sanders' father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, blasted what he described as the restaurant’s “bigotry.”
"Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the 'Hate Plate'. And appetizers are 'small plates for small minds,' he tweeted.
President Trump also weighed in, mocking the restaurant for “its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders.”
According to reports, Sanders responded to Wilkinson’s request by saying, “That’s fine. I’ll go,” and vacated the restaurant with the rest of her party. She later recounted the incident online, telling Twitter that she left “politely” and will continue to treat people who disagree with her respectfully.
“Her actions say far more about her than about me,” Sanders wrote of Wilkinson. “I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.”

Jim Jordan says AG Barr ‘serious’ about uncovering origins of Russia probe

Attorney General William Barr fully intends to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation and find out why federal authorities conducted surveillance on the Trump campaign, House Judiciary Committee member Jim Jordan told Fox News on Tuesday evening.
“I think this is Bill Barr doing what he said (he would do)," Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said during a panel discussion on "The Ingraham Angle." "Remember when he was in front of the Senate Finance Committee four weeks ago? (Barr) said he was serious about putting a team to get to the bottom of this."
Jordan's comments came in response to remarks on MSNBC earlier in the evening by former CIA Director John Brennan, who insisted that surveillance of the Trump campaign went through a “rigorous due process” and was approved by the FISA court. Any efforts by Republicans to portray the surveillance as a “deep state” operation are a misrepresentation, Brennan said.
But the only misrepresentation, Jordan said, is that investigators failed to tell the FISA court who paid for the anti-Trump Steele dossier.
That controversial dossier, which the FBI used to obtain a warrant from the court under the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, was written by British ex-spy Christopher Steele, and funded by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. It was used by Democrats and multiple media outlets as fodder to allege that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Barr has appointed John Durham, a U.S. attorney in Connecticut, to examine the origins of the Russian investigation and determine if intelligence-collection efforts targeting the Trump campaign were “lawful and appropriate,” a person familiar with the matter told Fox News.
When asked to give his take on other networks dismissing the effort as a conservative “fantasyland,” Jordan said the effort should be taken seriously.
During the recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, Barr used two terms that should “scare” every single American, Jordan said. The terms were “unauthorized surveillance” and “political surveillance."

Mothers Day 2019

China Unfair Trade Cartoons

President Trump urges companies to produce domestically to Avoid Tariffs

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:33 PM PT — Saturday, May 11, 2019

President Trump is urging companies to make or produce goods domestically, in order to avoid tariffs related to the ongoing trade dispute with China.
Taking to twitter Saturday, the President said “making or producing goods and products in the good old USA” is a very simple way to avoid tariffs.

Such an easy way to avoid Tariffs? Make or produce your goods and products in the good old USA. It’s very simple!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2019

This comes after trade talks with China concluded earlier this week, without an agreement between the two nations.
In a statement Friday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer revealed the President had ordered him to begin the process of raising tariffs on essentially all remaining imports from China.
The United States has upped duties on $200 billion worth of goods after accusing China of going back on previous agreements, designed to answer concerns on issues such as access to markets and intellectual property rights.
President Trump has since claimed the talks had been candid and constructive, adding tariffs may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations.
However, China accuses the U.S. of proposing a one-sided text for a trade agreement, saying there were passages that offended its national dignity, and denies going back on its previous commitments.

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.