Donald Trump has some big wins in Asia so far this week. Let’s talk about it.
The deal involving TikTok might be done. I do have my doubts.
And Zorhan Mamdani lies about Islamophobia to gain sympathy but only makes an ass out of himself.
Already Successful
On Sunday, the United States signed several trade and critical minerals agreements with four Southeast Asian countries—Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam—during a summit in Kuala Lumpur. These deals aim to address trade imbalances, diversify supply chains, and reduce dependency on China, particularly regarding rare earth elements crucial for industries like semiconductors and electric vehicles.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed reciprocal trade deals with Malaysia and Cambodia, and a framework agreement with Thailand to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers. The U.S. will maintain a 19% tariff on exports from these countries, though some goods will have zero tariffs.
Additionally, Vietnam, which had a trade surplus of $123 billion with the U.S. last year, agreed to buy more American products to help reduce this gap. The U.S. imposed a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports, but a framework agreement was also established.
The deals focused heavily on critical minerals supply chains. Malaysia, in particular, committed to not banning or imposing quotas on critical mineral exports to the U.S. but did not specify whether this applied to raw or processed rare earths. Malaysia has banned the export of raw rare earths to retain resources for its own processing industry.
The agreements also cover digital trade, services, labor rights, environmental protections, and market access. Malaysia agreed to streamline regulations for U.S. products and secured tariff exemptions for goods like aerospace equipment, pharmaceuticals, and commodities such as palm oil and rubber. Thailand, which agreed to eliminate tariffs on 99% of goods, also relaxed foreign ownership rules in telecommunications and pledged significant purchases of U.S. goods, including $18.8 billion in aircraft and $5.4 billion in energy products.
Another Win!
According to the Daily Wire:
President Donald Trump attended a peace ceremony for Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday after helping mediate a ceasefire agreement between the two countries.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul joined Trump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to formalize the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords brokered earlier this year. The agreement ended a five-day conflict this summer that resulted in dozens of deaths, according to NBC News.
“On behalf of the United States, I’m proud to help settle this conflict and forge a future for the region,” said Trump.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Thailand will release 18 Cambodian soldiers detained during the conflict. Both countries will remove heavy weapons from along their shared border, and officials with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will monitor the ceasefire.
“We saved maybe millions of lives on this one peace deal,” said Trump.
Not Sure of This
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an optimistic update on the fate of the TikTok deal on Sunday, saying that a framework of a deal has been reached.
According to the Daily Wire:
According to the text of the executive order, the framework resolves the national security concerns by removing “the TikTok application and certain other applications from the ‘control’ of a foreign adversary and precludes any ‘operational relationship’ between a formerly affiliated entity controlled by a foreign adversary and the new joint venture.”
It also “prohibits the storage of sensitive United States user data in a manner that would place such data under the control of a foreign adversary and requires such data to be stored in a cloud environment run by an American company.”
Definitely Not Sure of This
U.S. and Chinese economic officials met at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, negotiating a framework for a trade deal to be finalized by Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping later in the week. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the threat of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, set to begin November 1, was eliminated. Additionally, China is expected to delay its rare earths export controls for a year as the policy is reassessed.
The trade deal is expected to extend a tariff truce beyond its November 10 expiration and revive U.S. soybean sales to China, benefiting American farmers. Both sides discussed trade expansion, rare earths access, the U.S. fentanyl crisis, U.S. port fees, and the potential transfer of TikTok to U.S. ownership. The deal will need further internal approval from both countries.
Trump, who is in Malaysia for an ASEAN summit, expressed optimism about reaching a deal with China. The trade talks come after a period of rising tensions, particularly over China’s rare earths export controls, which threaten global supply chains. Trump also signaled potential future meetings with Xi in China or the U.S.
In addition to trade, Trump aims to address issues like Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the war in Ukraine in his discussions with Xi.
Dumbass Politicians
According to the Daily Wire:
Hundreds of requests have poured into the watchdog group StopAntisemitism after it offered last week to help New York City residents relocate over the potential rise of Zohran Mamdani to mayor.
Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor, leads former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, making an independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa by double-digits in polls. Mamdani calls himself a Democratic Socialist and has been accused by critics of courting antisemites if not trafficking in Jew-hatred himself.
“New Yorkers – looking to relocate if Mamdani wins the NYC mayoral race? We’d love to connect you to realtors in FL, TX, CT, etc. You deserve to live in a city not run by an antisemite,” an October 16 X post from StopAntisemitism says.
“If Mamdani is elected, we will make it our mission to remove as much of his tax base as possible. Antisemites understand one thing – consequences,” a follow-up post says.
More than 300 people have expressed interest in StopAntisemitism’s offer since the post went up, group founder Liora Rez told The Daily Wire. In addition, real estate agents from across the United States have contacted Rez’s group to offer their services for anyone wishing to relocate out of The Big Apple.
They Just Destroy
According to Fox News:
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said the next Democratic presidential nominee must vow to demolish President Donald Trump‘s White House ballroom, proposing the pledge a litmus test for the party’s 2028 contenders.
“Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE,” Swalwell wrote on X on Saturday.
Swalwell’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital for additional comment.
For the first time in its history, the White House will have a formal ballroom, a new addition built where the East Wing once stood, a project that has become a political flashpoint as photos of the demolition fuel debate over President Trump’s mark on the historic residence.
On July 31, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the planned construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The sprawling ballroom will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the classical design of the White House.
“The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance,” Leavitt said, adding the new ballroom will be “a much-needed and exquisite addition.”
Construction on the White House grounds, which began earlier this month, is estimated to cost $250 million and will be financed by Trump and private donors.
The ballroom isn’t the only update.
Trump has introduced gold accents in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, a new monument dubbed the “Arc de Trump,” the “walk of fame” with portraits of former presidents, including a photo of the autopen representing former President Joe Biden’s time in office, added stone pavers to the Rose Garden lawn and installed two 88-foot flagpoles.
Dumbass of the Day
Reagan Used Tariffs
If you watched the World Series, you might remember this ad:
According to the Daily Wire:
The liberal Canadian premier who launched a $75 million anti-tariff ad campaign in the United States featuring former President Ronald Reagan will yank the effort after pressure from President Donald Trump.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Friday afternoon that he would pause the ad campaign put out by his administration targeting Americans starting on Monday. That announcement came after Trump on Thursday said he had ended all trade talks with Canada over the ad, calling it an effort to influence American politics.
“Our intention was always to initiate a conversation about the kind of economy that Americans want to build and the impact of tariffs on workers and businesses,” Ford posted on X. “We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels. I’ve directed my team to keep putting our message in front of Americans over the weekend so that we can air our commercial during the first two World Series games.”
Ford said he would “pause [the] U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume” after speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/canada-reagan-ad-EjqHH3rtQ6.4f9kYkbGqMg?0=d#0
https://www.dailywire.com/news/canada-caves-ontario-to-yank-fake-reagan-ad-after-pressure-from-trump?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&category=undefined&elementPosition=14&row=3&rowHeadline=Latest+News&rowType=Vertical+Carousel&title=Canada+Caves%3A+Ontario+To+Yank+%E2%80%98Fake%E2%80%99+Reagan+Ad+After+Pressure+From+Trump
What Took So Long?!
It Just Didn’t See That Important
Who Could Have Seen It
According to the Daily Wire:
An Ohio man who was convicted in the high-profile beating death of 17-year-old Ethan Liming has been released from prison, and was arrested and charged this past week in a different murder.
Deshawn Stafford, 24, has been charged with murdering Timothy Hutchinson, a 25-year-old Ohio man who was working as an engineer in his hometown. Hutchinson was reportedly struck unintentionally during an exchange of gunfire allegedly between Stafford and another individual.
In addition to the murder charge, Stafford is facing charges of felonious assault, discharging a firearm on a public roadway, having a weapon while under disability, drug trafficking, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
A GoFundMe for Hutchinson set up by the victim’s sister says Hutchinson graduated from the mechanical engineering program of University of Akron less than a year ago.
