Following discussions at the 2026 ASEAN Summit in Manilla, Philippines, Secretary of State Marco Rubio answers questions from the media on a variety of current issues and events.

Secretary Rubio noted considerable discussions with Chinese officials on the upcoming state visit by Chairman Xi Jinping in September.  Additional questions surrounded the ongoing conflict with Iran.  WATCH: 

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As President Trump’s doctrine continues to unfold, foreign sovereign policy becomes more important.  Secretary Rubio notes the importance of high-level contacts and communication between global powers like USA, China and Russia as things unfold.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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A very well-presented synopsis of what inevitably boils down to “ethnic narcissism” brought to the surface by President Barack Obama.  In this video the overall conflict and political turmoil is reviewed through a cultural prism.

They ain’t wrong, and the presentation is grounded in faith.  It’s worth the time to watch.

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CTH has outlined the issues with motor-voter registration for over a decade.  Today, what the mainstream media always denied was factually admitted by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill.

Governor Mikie Sherrill – “Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered “no” when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway.

This happened under the previous administration and, upon learning this information, I immediately ordered my chief counsel to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of what occurred. I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024. The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system.”

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has a message to President Trump and to all Americans. Premier Ford promises to dismantle the U.S. economy if President Trump continues to threaten tariffs and trade sanctions.

Considering the economy of the USA is ten-times larger than Canada, that’s quite a threat from Premier Doug Ford. WATCH:  

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Personally, I think all this back-and-forth banter is no longer worth the surface effort.  It would be much easier, and now affirmed as constitutionally appropriate by the Supreme Court, if President Trump just executed a full trade embargo against all Canadian goods for a period of 60-days.

Perhaps that way Canada will recognize just how vulnerable they are.  Perhaps not, but it’s worth the effort.  Just ban all imports and exports for 60-days and let’s see what happens.

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Things are going to escalate very quickly now as the midterm election looms closer and various interests start to take their lane against President Trump and the economic position of the United States.  There are trillions at stake.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked about the latest Sec.338 tariffs levied by President Trump and USTR Jamieson Greer.  Carney said he and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to intensify trade negotiations following a phone conversation earlier this morning.

While the phone call likely did contain that sentiment, USTR Greer was clear on CNBC today that Mark Carney is simply not telling the truth.  The babble from the Canadian side is nothing of substance and just repeats the same nonsensical claims about agreeing to things that are not in conflict.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Prime Minister Carney said both sides would step up discussions in the coming weeks despite Trump’s latest tariff threat against Canada. He added that all options remain on the table if the United States proceeds with new tariffs.  WATCH:

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Below is how President Trump responded to questions about the motive for the new tariffs.

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In the first half of this CNBC interview with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, the Ambassador walks through the reasoning, purpose and intent of the recently announced 50% tariff rate against Canadian imported goods.

As noted by USTR Greer the Canadians are applying two separate metrics within their trade agreement with Europe and the USA.  Toward Europe there are no limits and quotas on dairy products, toward the USA there are severe limits and quotas applied by third party brokers (co-ops owned by Canadian dairy farms) leveraged by the Canadian government.  This is one example of Canadian duplicity.

Additionally, by the various provincial governments of Canada banning the import and/or sale of U.S. products, and with Canada putting caps and limits on automobiles, these USA trade actions are being confronted by the 50% countervailing duties against Canadian imports.  Greer also calls ‘bulls**t’ on Carney’s double speak.  WATCH:

The trade discussion with Canada returns at the 10:00 minute mark. Jamieson Greer notes we have always had trade issues with Canada for decades. There was a significant percentage of the population who are against offshoring jobs, which is what NAFTA essentially did in North America.

It is also worth emphasizing that President Trump wants Canada to diversify. Both U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra and President Trump have said, repeatedly, President Trump wants Canada to go make other bilateral deals with other nations.

Why? Two main reasons.

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{Bumped – By Request More Analysis Added}

It is very obvious from the construct and details of this announcement that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has completed a comprehensive review of the retaliatory action by Canada that followed the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Steel and Aluminum. {FACT SHEET HERE}

Last year two countries retaliated against the U.S. for the 232 (steel and aluminum) tariffs, China and Canada. The USTR office has now quantified the tariff and non-tariff barriers triggered by Canada in 2025 and provided President Trump with a financial quantification of the trade impact.

The three Canadian retaliatory sectors highlighted include: (1) Alcoholic Beverages, (2) Motor Vehicles, (3) Dairy Products. These are the three segments quantified by USTR Greer that form the baseline for the U.S. to retaliate with countervailing duties.

Effective 30 days from now, August 16, 2026, President Trump has established a 50% tariff rate against a wide variety of Canadian imports. Essentially three major Annexes: {LIST 1 – LIST 2 – LIST 3} under the authority of Section 338.

♦ Section 338 authorizes the President, if he determines it will serve the public interest, to offset any burden or disadvantage placed on the commerce of the United States by an unequal imposition or discrimination by a foreign country by specifying and declaring additional duties not to exceed 50 percent ad valorem (or its equivalent) and not to take effect earlier than 30 days after the President’s proclamation finding that a foreign country imposes an unreasonable charge, exaction, regulation, or limitation that is not equally enforced on the like articles of every foreign country, or discriminates in fact against U.S. commerce in a way that places the commerce of the United States at a disadvantage compared to the commerce of any foreign country.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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