President Trump spoke yesterday to a packed audience of business leaders hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago. Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, was the only other person on stage.
President Trump spoke yesterday to a packed audience of business leaders hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago. Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, was the only other person on stage.
The session lasted more than an hour, and Micklethwait challenged Trump on numerous topics, including tariffs, the economy, the federal debt, immigration, government waste, Russia, China, Taiwan, Google, January 6, and the peaceful transfer of power.
Whether one agreed with Trump’s answers or not, he was fluent, speaking off the cuff and providing numerous anecdotes from his time in the White House. He even sparred with Micklethwait on the content of his responses. Having been fed a steady diet from Vice President Kamala with poll-tested, canned responses whenever she speaks, the average American would have come away impressed with Trump’s performance. Trump, the consummate businessman (whose net worth in Truth Social alone just rose to more than $2 billion), was at the top of his game in a scene not seen since the Biden administration took over.
The interview started with tariffs and stayed on it for an extended segment. Trump argued forcefully for leveraging America’s enormous buying power as a country that suffers trade deficits with every major economy in the world through the intelligent use of tariffs. When a country of America’s economic heft suffers a trade deficit, it means that we buy more from a certain country than we sell to it. That country would be desperate not to lose access to American markets.
Our columnist noted Trump’s passion for tariffs on these pages last month, and those words are worth repeating:
During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs on many countries – primarily Mexico and China – that he thought played unfairly regarding trade. For nearly 35 years, going back to his appearances on Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donohue, Trump has been consistent in saying that other countries take advantage of American trade policies that do not impose tariffs on imported goods. Still, these same countries levy hefty tariffs on goods that the U.S. exports.
It is a theme Trump repeatedly returned to. He discussed how South Korea agreed to pay more in tariffs when he challenged Seoul. Trump used another anecdote about someone who builds auto plants (or parts??) in Mexico for Chinese automobile manufacturers. According to Trump, they have abandoned the idea, anticipating Trump’s return to the White House and his threat to impose 100% tariffs on those products coming back into the United States. Trump fondly remembered Shinzo Abe, the Japanese leader with whom he had a strong relationship. Trump revealed that Abe had told him that Japanese leaders had taken advantage of weak American trade policies for years.
While Trump is the founder of the MAGA movement, which has attracted millions of working-class voters without a college degree, he revealed today how he would employ his 60+ years in the business world to implement MAGA by attempting to negotiate the best outcome for the United States. His appeal to the voter has always been that he is not a politician and brings his business skills to the job, even if he got a few decisions wrong. This unique appeal was evident in Chicago and sharply contrasted with Harris who has never worked in the private sector, or made a private payroll for a single employee in her life.
Trump described his vision in straightforward terms. If a country plays nice, he will welcome them with open arms. If a country doesn’t, like when it dumps goods in America or tries to create an alternate reserve currency to compete with the dollar (like the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), he would place tariffs on their imports to hurt their export economies. Trump made repeated overtures to foreign companies to invest in American factories to create jobs and drive up economic output. He, however, did not have a logical explanation for why he would oppose Nippon Steel’s acquisition of U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh.
Trump also talked about how he negotiated on behalf of the United States when dealing with military suppliers. In one anecdote, he described how he struck a deal with then-Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to bring down the price of Air Force One from $5.7 billion to a penny under $4 billion. It was the perfect segue for him to address government waste and discuss how he would appoint Elon Musk, the brilliant innovator, as the government’s chief cost-cutter. Trump, always the astute TV performer, marveled at how the launch pad of a SpaceX rocket caught the 250-ton booster upon its return in a clip that has thrilled millions worldwide, as well as to Musk’s and his team’s engineering feat. The Harris campaign has no genius on its side to rival Musk.
Musk, who has been the target of liberal media outlets ever since he joined hands with Trump, received a rare bit of praise in a superb science-based article in the New York Times. In describing NASA’s mission to Jupiter yesterday, the Times noted that initially, the government demanded NASA use a massive NASA-developed rocket that cost an estimated $4 billion per launch. Congress relented on that requirement, and in 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX, owned by Musk, the Falcon Heavy launch contract for only $178 million, a savings to the taxpayer of over 95%. It is little wonder why the Military Industrial Complex is totally against Trump and is behind Kamala Harris, who has continued to agree to fund America’s war machine.
On immigration, Trump made a statement that invited loud applause: He was for immigration as long as it was legal. Most Americans agree with this position, which is in sharp contrast to the one led by Harris.
With fewer than three weeks before the election, President Trump proved that he was a confident leader in complete command of his ideas and how he delivered them. While he meandered a bit and repeated his words, refreshingly, there were no personal stories, narratives of meaningless expressions of hope (Americans have dreams and aspirations), and there was no Tel-e-Prompter.
In Chicago, Trump was all business, a chief executive whom the average American would probably want to invite home for dinner or be friends with, and one whom the voters would easily hire to right the country’s course.
TIPP Picks
Selected by tippinsights
TIPP Tracking Poll Day 3: Harris Widens Popular Vote Lead, While Trump Maintains Edge in Electoral Projections – TIPP Insights
Electoral Showdown 2024: Latest Win Probabilities – October 16 -TIPP Insights
Noncitizens Will Vote In November, The Only Question Is How Many? – Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
Biden-Harris Admin’s Medicare Shock For Seniors –
Kamala Isn’t Just Stupid, She’s Dangerous – Morgan Murphy, DCNF
It’s Time For A New Commander In Chief — Just Ask Israel – Josh Hammer – DCNF
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. U.S. Gives Israel 30 Days To Boost Gaza Aid Or Risk Cut To Military Support – BBC
The U.S. has written to Israel, giving it 30 days to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza or risk having some U.S. military assistance cut off.
The strongest known written warning from the U.S. to its ally comes amid a new Israeli offensive in northern Gaza that has reportedly caused a large number of civilian casualties.
2. Israeli Strike Rocks Beirut Suburbs After U.S. Says It Opposes Scope Of Air Assault – Reuters
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. had expressed its concerns to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration on the recent strikes.
The Israeli military has, in recent weeks, carried out strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs without warnings or issued a warning for one area while striking more broadly.
3. Israel Faces Potential Shortage Of Interceptor Missiles Amid Iran Threats – The Jerusalem Post
If Iran and Hezbollah attack Israel simultaneously, Israel’s air defenses may be overwhelmed, Dana Stroul, a former senior U.S. defense official, explained to the Financial Times.
Stroul also noted that the U.S. cannot indefinitely sustain supply efforts for both Ukraine and Israel, as resources are reaching a critical limit. Israel has been using Arrow interceptors regularly to shoot down ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis and occasionally to shoot down missiles from Hezbollah.
4. Iran’s Top Diplomat Warns UN Chief Its Ready For ‘Decisive’ Response To Israel Attack – Al Arabiya
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned UN chief Antonio Guterres it is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks the Islamic Republic in retaliation for a barrage of missiles.
Israel is weighing how to respond to Iran’s launch of about 200 missiles at the country on October 1. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel – and not its top ally, the United States – would decide how to strike back.
5. Russia Forming North Korean Battalion Amid Soldier Shortage: Report – RFA
The Kyiv Post, citing sources in Ukraine’s military intelligence, reported that the North Koreans will form part of the “Special Buryat Battalion,” organized within the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Russian Armed Forces.
The newspaper reported that the battalion is expected to include up to 3,000 North Korean troops and is currently being supplied with small arms and ammunition. It added that it may be deployed near Sudzha and Kursk, close to the Ukrainian border.
6. U.S., Philippine Forces Start Military Drills Amid Tension Over China’s War Games – Reuters
The drills, running until Oct. 25, come after China conducted war games around Taiwan on Monday that drew condemnation from the Taipei and U.S. governments.
The military exercises will involve more than 2,000 American troops and Filipino soldiers and personnel, including island-based exercises in amphibious landings, live fire, and humanitarian assistance, the Philippine Marine Corps said. The armed forces drills are named KAMANDAG, an acronym in Filipino for “Cooperation of the warriors of the sea.”
7. China Is Leading An ‘Age Of Electricity,’ IEA Report Says – Nikkei Asia
The International Energy Agency said in a report that the energy market is entering “an age of electricity” led by China, with annual global demand expected to accelerate by as much as Japan consumes each year.
Electricity is quickly replacing fossil fuels, the Paris-based intergovernmental body said in its annual World Energy Outlook, raising the question of whether clean energy generation can expand fast enough to keep up with global emission reduction targets.
8. Researchers Alarmed By China’s Grip On EU Wind Sector – Brussels Signal
In a report, researcher Henrik Wachtmeister warned that China’s increasing control of the sector posed a strategic threat to Sweden and Europe’s long-term economic prosperity and political autonomy.
While Chinese state-owned companies control 10.4 percent of Sweden’s installed wind power capacity, they provide 70 to 80 percent of many key components globally and undertake almost 100 percent of the refining of key rare-earth elements, the report read.
9. U.S. Urges N. Korea To Stop Actions That Raise Conflict Risk After Blowing Up Of Cross-Border Roads – Yonhap
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made the call, reiterating Washington’s call for Pyongyang to return to diplomacy.
The North carried out the detonations in areas near the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas after its military announced a plan last week to “completely separate” its territory from South Korea in another display of its deepening enmity toward the South, which it has called a “primary foe.”
10. Is Kim Jong Un’s Shifting Stance On Unification Genuine Divergence Or Strategic Maneuver? – UPI
Experts and government agencies worldwide are left to determine whether North Korea’s abandonment of unification is genuine or consistent with the greater picture of erratic decision-making and saber-rattling that has become characteristic of its leadership.
Some have speculated in the past that increased posturing from the North could be a signal that the DPRK is on the verge of collapse and that Kim Jong Un’s health could be failing.
11. Hundreds Of Afghan Soldiers To Be Allowed To Relocate To UK After U-Turn – BBC
Under the previous government, about 2,000 Afghans who served with specialist units – known as the “Triples” – were denied permission to relocate to the UK after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Armed forces minister Luke Pollard told the House of Commons a review had now found some applications were wrongly turned down. The so-called “Triples” were elite units of Afghan soldiers set up, funded, and run by the UK.
12. Indian FM Makes Rare Visit To Pakistan For SCO Summit – D.W.
With diplomatic ties between the two nuclear powers remaining frosty, an Indian politician’s visit to Pakistan is rare.
India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, is in Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The last time an Indian foreign minister visited Pakistan was in 2015 when Sushma Swaraj attended a conference on Afghanistan.
13. Survey: Improvements Needed For Breast Cancer Treatment Side Effects – UPI Health
The survey indicates 99.9% of breast cancer patients experienced physical and mental side effects from treatment, including chemotherapy patients who experienced the most severe symptoms.
Some 12.2% said their healthcare providers did not give them enough time to discuss side effects, and 12.8% said their doctors didn’t think their side effects were due to medication. Most breast cancer patients lacked referrals for additional support.
Most breast cancer patients are using the Internet to learn more about managing their respective breast cancer treatments and side effects.
14. Human Sense Of Smell May Be Quicker Than You Think – HealthDay News
New research shows that people sense millisecond shifts in odor as quickly as they might spot a color change.
“Our apparatus could be used for therapeutic purposes, such as olfactory training for patients with olfactory loss,” study lead author Dr. Zhou Wen said. “Our findings could guide the design and development of electronic noses and olfactory virtual reality systems, which could have significant clinical benefits,” she added.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
