Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

The Supreme Court on June 27 handed down a decision restricting federal judges’ ability to impose nationwide injunctions against executive policies, a ruling that was immediately hailed by President Donald Trump as a win for his administration.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered the opinion of the court, writing, “These injunctions—known as ‘universal injunctions’—likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts.”

In comments at a White House press conference, Trump praised the decision as “amazing,” saying it is “one we’re very happy about.”

“This morning, the Supreme Court has delivered a monumental victory for the Constitution, separation of powers, and the rule of law,” Trump said.

The decision comes as judicial injunctions—which can sometimes take the form of prohibitions on a specific policy or federal goal—have threatened Trump’s ability to execute a series of policies pursued by his administration.

Here are six policies that could be affected by the ruling.

Funding for Sanctuary Cities

In February, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked implementation of an executive order targeting federal funding for “sanctuary cities,” describing cities that flout federal immigration law and refuse to assist federal agents in enforcing immigration law.

The judge at the time said this push violated the Tenth Amendment by imposing “coercive conditions intended to commandeer local officials into enforcing federal immigration practices and law.”

After Trump signed the order, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive in February for implementing the funding cut.

“To protect the American people from the effects of unlawful mass migration, President Trump has prioritized securing our Nation’s borders and enforcing federal immigration laws,” the directive read. “In furtherance of that objective, the Department of Justice will ensure that, consistent with law, ’sanctuary jurisdictions’ do not receive access to Federal funds from the Department.”

Voter ID

Trump could also now be able to push ahead with a stalled effort to overhaul U.S. election law through an executive order that would require states to impose stronger voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements.

“The United States has not adequately enforced Federal election requirements that, for example, prohibit States from counting ballots received after Election Day or prohibit non-citizens from registering to vote,” the order said.

It was halted by federal judges in Massachusetts and Washington after 19 states sued.

$3 Trillion Funding Freeze

Another policy that could be affected was an effort by Trump to freeze upwards of $3 trillion in funding and grants to states while they were reviewed for alignment with the administration’s goals and policies.

Twenty-three states sued to block the policy. They were granted favorable rulings, which the government has appealed, by federal judges in Washington and Rhode Island.

The attempted funding freeze comes as part of Trump’s larger effort to reduce federal spending and ensure that such spending aligns with the goals of his administration.

Public School DEI Programs

Another policy that could now be permitted to move ahead centers around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in public schools.

The administration, through the Department of Education, has ordered public schools to end such programs or risk losing their share of around $75 billion in federal public school funding.

Judges in three jurisdictions—New Hampshire, Maryland, and Washington—blocked the effort.

Taxpayer Transgender Funding

Another policy that could be back in play is an effort by Trump to block federal funding for medical providers who perform transgender-related procedures on individuals below the age of 19.

In a Jan. 28 executive order, Trump said that the United States “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ’transition’ of a child from one sex to another,” defined as any individual 18 years or younger.

A Baltimore-based federal judge placed an injunction on enforcing the policy in March.

USAID Funding

Finally, the Supreme Court decision could permit Trump to move ahead with his administration’s efforts to effectively end the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and wrap the agency into the State Department.

USAID has been accused of using U.S. taxpayer funding to advance progressive causes domestically and internationally. Trump froze nearly $2 billion for the government body early in his term.

A Washington judge ordered Trump to resume the payments.

The conflict over illegal immigration in the US is rooted in a very simple question:  Should a society have standards for who gets access to its culture and economy?  Does a nation have the right to deny some people while accepting others?

The majority of countries in the world have such rules and restrictions on immigration, yet the US has for some reason become a petri dish for unfettered multiculturalism.  The rest of the planet seems to feel it has the right to demand that Americans open their borders to anyone and everyone.  Specifically, the political left is obsessed with the notion that the US is not allowed to deny entry, and if it does then it is exercising a “fascist” imperative that must be sabotaged.

Inevitably, progressives cite the immigration surge from 1870 to 1900 along with the poem on the Statue of Liberty titled “The New Colossus”, which calls to “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”  What many people don’t know is that the plaque with the poem wasn’t added to the Statue of Liberty until 1903 and it was written by a feminist and socialist by the name of Emma Lazarus. 

The open borders agenda is not new, it was started by socialists a long time ago and the process is an ongoing one.  

One aspect of immigration law that leftists have exploited for quite some time is the existence of birthright citizenship.  The laws surrounding citizenship outlined in the 14th Amendment were intended to secure rights for newly freed slaves after the Civil War.  They were not meant to be used by foreign invaders as a loophole so they could sneak across the border, drop a baby or two on US soil and avoid deportation.

The Supreme Court’s stance on this issue has shifted back and forth over the decades but their latest decision denies the assumed powers of federal judges to block White House policy unilaterally.  In other words, individual activist judges do not have more power that a lawfully elected president.  This should be obvious, but the political left does not care about election outcomes and the will of the people.  They think they know better.        

The SCOTUS decision allows the Trump Administration to narrow the interpretation of birthright citizenship to children with at least one parent that already has legal standing in the US.  A baby born in America with two illegal alien parents is not automatically a US citizen according to White House policy. 

The court’s ruling does not end the conflict completely, however.  There is civil litigation to address and lower courts will continue to delay in the hopes of derailing deportations.  Immigration activists are already panicking, though; flooding social media with an old and debunked narrative that Trump’s children including Barron Trump are now non-citizens under Trump’s rules.

Ending Birthright Citizenship…

Deportations need to start here. pic.twitter.com/VajiDxG7Ke

— Travis Matthew (@Matthewtravis08) June 28, 2025

The claim is, of course, nonsense, and stems from a lack of understanding when it comes to basic immigration law.  Or, it is a deliberate refusal to acknowledge the difference between legal and illegal migrants. 

Barron Trump was born in March 2006. His mother, Melania Trump, became a US citizen in July 2006

Donald Trump Jr was born in 1977, Ivanka Trump was born in 1981, Eric Trump was born in 1984. Ivana Trump did not become a citizen until 1988.

All Birth-right citizens under Trump. pic.twitter.com/9LlDpwqqVz

— Lara reads banned books in Florida📚🇺🇸 (@MadeInTheUSANJ) June 27, 2025

This is a disconnect from reality that has persisted since Trump began his secure borders campaign, with leftists claiming that Melania Trump and her children are subject to deportation and that Trump is a “hypocrite” for wanting some migrants removed while being married to an immigrant. 

As Trump moves to end birthright citizenship – it might be a good time to point out the fact that Ivana was not a US citizen when Don Jr, Ivanka & Eric were born and Melania was not a US citizen when Barron was born. pic.twitter.com/Q3RzEnTMMw

— anyone_want_chips (@anyonewantchips) June 27, 2025

As in all things, arguing with stupid people is dangerous because one often has to sink down to their level and roll around in the gutter.  That said, it’s worth reminding people once again that Trump’s position does not oppose all immigration, just illegal immigration.  The difference is clear; if a foreigner goes through proper channels then they are a legal citizen.  This includes Melania Trump who received her citizenship status in 2006.  Trump’s children are automatically citizens, not necessarily because they were born in the US but because Trump is a citizen. 

This is not hard to understand.

Progressive fact checking organizations have even debunked this argument, noting that all of Trump’s children and Melania are distinctly legal, as opposed to migrants that invade the border and have children in order to anchor themselves legally.  The political left’s refusal to accept the difference is a tiresome ploy that needs to end.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced on Sunday that he will not seek re-election, just one day after voting “no” on a procedural vote to advance President Donald Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ – for which Trump attacked Tillis in a series of posts on Truth Social. 

“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” Tillis said in a statement, adding “It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics. When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure.“

“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term. That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home. It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.”

Tillis’ decision creates a political opportunity for Democrats, as it now means a wide-open Senate race in a state that has long been a contested battleground. 

In several posts to Truth Social, Trump slammed Tilis for being one of two GOP senators who voted against the bill – accusing him of seeking publicity with his “no” vote, and threatening to launch a campaign against him. 

“Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,” Trump wrote. 

By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

Fed Week? Animal Spirits?

While many are assuming the July 30th FOMC meeting is a “no-go” and the first rate cut isn’t likely until the September 17th meeting, that could be wrong. We will also touch on “Animal Spirts” in this report, as that will be the next driver for the economy, even more than the markets.

But first, let’s revisit Academy’s Geopolitical content this week.

• We start with Saturday night’s rapid assessment of the U.S. Strikes on Iran.
• This dovetailed into our weekend T-Report – A LOT of Moving Parts.
  • While that incorporated an update on the Middle East, it also highlighted other “moving parts” the market is dealing with – tariffs, who the President is being advised by, the Big Beautiful Bill, Russia and Ukraine, Questioning the Fed, and the Art of the Deal.
  • These topics remain front and center for the economy and markets.
• On Tuesday we published Peace Through Strength.
  • We cannot emphasize this report enough, as it consolidates our take on the attacks and the various paths forward. While a week might not seem like a long time (it does, though, lately), it has stood the test of time. Whatever competing narratives are playing out in the media, we believe this gets to the heart of the matter.
    • Not only was serious damage done, but an incredibly powerful message was sent not just to Iran, but also to all of America’s adversaries.
• Finally, we also published our latest Around the World, which has grown in size and scope commensurate with the expansion of our Geopolitical Intelligence Group, and the importance of geopolitical risks in today’s world.

Digesting that information is enough, and we could almost stop here, but we want to reiterate our views on the Fed/rates and introduce our take on Animal Spirits.

Could This Week Re-Shape the Fed Narrative?

We get a LOT of jobs data this week. In Getting The Fed to Get Ahead we argued that any “good” data had elements that went against the “good” narrative and that “bad” and even “ugly” data abounded.

Nothing since we wrote that piece gives us any reason to assume the jobs data is better. Sure, the Establishment Survey Headline Number might beat again. This would defy statistical probability that so many economists with vast resources who forecast the number are wrong (only to be proven correct down the road when all the revisions hit). However, there is a real risk that the data is very disappointing (including our ongoing concerns about how seasonal adjustments are calculated).

Spending disappointed and even with relatively tame “whisper numbers,” the risk remains to the disappointing side on jobs data.

We also mentioned why we think the Fed’s inflation concerns related to tariffs are overstated in that report.

On Thursday, we added more arguments against the Fed’s overly cautious tariff inflation concerns in the Tariff Revenue Chart.

• The tariffs collected so far are a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the economy.
• Tariff mitigation strategies are being employed in many ways, which will reduce the cost of many tariffs and certainly delay the timing of anything that might be passed on to the consumer, well past the next few weeks (or even months).

We fully expect the market to agree with our take by the end of this week’s data and news cycle.

Own Duration

We continue to like owning duration. Clearly everything we describe above (and our outlook of 3 to 4 cuts this year, potentially starting in July) supports that trade. In the aforementioned tariff chart, we highlight the revenue being generated by tariffs and why this is good for lowering bond yields.

There was recently some discussion about “dramatically scaling back the issuance of notes and bonds issued by the Treasury Department.”

While we paraphrase a bit here (maybe a lot) there are some signs the administration may decide the Fed is wrong, yields are too high, and that they will issue only short-dated obligations!

• Go For It.
  • The T-Report has been advising companies to hold/manage their current debt issuance because we think rates can go lower.
  • The T-Report is advising asset managers to get long duration because we think rates should go lower.
  • If the government asked for our opinion, we would support this decision.
  • We NEVER understood why the only borrower who didn’t take advantage of ZIRP was the U.S. government. Corporations locked in low yields for as long as possible. Individuals locked in low yields for as long as possible (it is why Fed cuts and hikes don’t translate to the consumer the way they once did, because most of America has mortgages under 3%).

If this idea gains traction, look for curves to flatten and duration to outperform (and this is only in addition to all the other reasons why we have liked it).

Sure, at 4.27%, 10s are not the “screaming buy” they were a few weeks ago, but they should drift toward 4.1%, with a lot of catalysts out there that could force any remaining shorts to cover.

Animal Spirits

With U.S. stocks at all-time highs, we have seen animal spirits impact investors. It is unclear how much they have hit corporate America, or even the American consumer.

• Corporations seem content to invest heavily in AI. But how much is the average company investing away from that?
  • Small and midsize companies seem particularly constrained.
• The consumer data, while generally still strong, seems to be exhibiting some fault lines (not cracks, but fault lines).
• With little pushback, we have discussed the concept that no matter what you think the current economy and policies do for your business, there is a bias to act slightly more conservatively.
• One company’s expenses are another company’s revenue. Simplistic and trite, but real.

The market can continue to do well if the administration can unlock animal spirits in the economy. We seem to be on the cusp of that.

• The attack on Iran gives a degree of confidence about the power of America. This can generate positive “vibes” and can undo some of the damage that has been done to the American Brand.
  • The success of NATO getting more spending fits this narrative well.
• The Big Beautiful Bill. We’ve argued that what actually gets passed is less important than getting something passed through “normal” legislation. Not executive order. The House and the Senate approving a bill and turning it into law is a big deal (heck, even a big, beautiful deal). There will be plenty of time to argue about the costs, the winners, the losers, etc., but getting this passed should help animal spirits.
• National Production for National Security. Deregulation. We will once again focus on this later in the week, but that could be the massive accelerant the economy needs.
• Tariffs are a wildcard. More pauses and even a few deals – all good. More threats, escalations, etc., and we could undo some of the good.

Markets will need the “Animal Spirts” they have already exhibited to be picked up by the economy. There are plenty of reasons to believe that could occur, with tariff policy probably being the biggest threat (it shouldn’t be, but as we saw on Friday afternoon, it could be).

Bottom Line

The data on jobs, and the narrative on inflation this week, should heavily influence the Fed at the end of the month.

Re-awakening animal spirits across the economy is probably necessary to justify current market levels, but this will depend on which direction the administration heads in on several fronts. Currently, they seem to be leaning towards steps that go towards changing caution to excitement.

Have a great weekend and thank you for allowing Academy the opportunity to help you navigate these incredibly tricky times.

Under the Biden-Harris regime, and with backing from rogue sanctuary states, thousands—if not tens of thousands—of non-English-speaking migrants have been granted non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), a decision now under intense scrutiny following a series of deadly crashes involving 80,000-pound big rigs, including a horrific incident in Austin, Texas, that left five Americans dead.

On Friday, the US Department of Transportation (DoT) released a statement about DoT Sec. Duffy is preparing to launch a nationwide audit into states issuing non-domiciled CDLs, more specifically examining the potential for unqualified individuals obtaining these licenses to operate big rigs on America’s highways. 

“This action responds directly to a key directive from President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order on Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers and is part of Secretary Duffy’s commitment to safety,” a statement read from DoT.  

DoT Sec. Duffy stated, “The open borders policies of the last administration allowed millions to flood our country – leading to serious allegations that the trucking licensing system is being exploited.” 

“Today, we are launching a nationwide audit to get to the bottom of this … and our aduit about protecting the safety of families on the road and upholding the integrity of CDLs held by America’s truckers. Every state must follow federal regulations, and ensure only qualified, properly documented drivers are getting behind the wheel of a truck,” Sec. Duffy said. 

Last Wednesday, the English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule went into effect under a DoT Executive Order, requiring all commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency or face out-of-service (OOS) violations.

Trucking news site Freight Waves estimates ELP “could significantly reduce trucking capacity” by upwards of 10%, while Border Report points out that trucking companies are scrambling…

Ahead of the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14286, titled “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers,” which went into effect last Wednesday, the advocacy group American Truckers United penned a letter to Sec. Duffy highlighting the urgent need to address national security concerns on America’s highways.

American Truckers United delivered a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, requesting support for our petition to ban non-domicile CDLs issued to non-citizens and to restrict foreign CDLs. https://t.co/uQv0hwIvmC pic.twitter.com/z71Ba8XnJ6

— American Truckers (@atutruckers) June 19, 2025

Duffy’s action against sanctuary states, which handed out non-domiciled CDLs like candy, suggests he may have finally listened to American Truckers United’s repeated warnings. It’s time for serious action to restore safety and security. The loss of American lives due to reckless, unvetted, non-domiciled CDL holders is unacceptable. It’s time to hold rogue sanctuary states accountable.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures with host Maria Bartiromo, President Donald Trump sounded off on a wide range of issues from the leaked report on U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities to the future of TikTok and the New York City mayoral race.

On the leak of a classified report detailing U.S. military actions against Iran’s nuclear sites, Trump expressed frustration, calling for swift action to identify those responsible. “They should be prosecuted,” Trump told Bartiromo. When pressed on who specifically should face consequences, the president replied, “You can find out. If they wanted, they could find out easily.”

.@realDonaldTrump suggested tracking down and prosecuting the leakers of a preliminary intelligence assessment of the damage inflicted by the recent U.S. strike on Iran.

DETAILS: https://t.co/mL8m9j1t2p pic.twitter.com/nd68ofIldi

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 29, 2025

Trump suggested a direct approach to uncovering the source: “You go up and tell the reporter, ‘national security, who gave it?’ You have to do that. And I suspect we’ll be doing things like that.”

Turning to the social media platform TikTok, Trump announced progress in securing its future under American ownership, a move aimed at addressing national security concerns tied to its Chinese parent company. In true Trump fashion, the president revealed that a group of “very wealthy people” had emerged as buyers, with further details to be disclosed in roughly two weeks. The deal, if finalized, would mark a significant step in reducing foreign influence over a platform widely used by Americans.

Trump: “We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way.”

Bartiromo: “Who’s the buyer?”

Trump: “I’ll tell you in about two weeks.” pic.twitter.com/qxF3WMZ3Z8

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 29, 2025

Trump also weighed in on New York City’s mayoral race, focusing on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist who recently won the Democrat primary. The president, a former New York resident, declined to endorse a candidate but issued a stern warning about Mamdani’s policies, particularly his opposition to mass deportation efforts.

Labeling Mamdani a “communist,” Trump said, “He’s a communist. I think it’s very bad for New York. I don’t know that he’s going to get in. It’s inconceivable.” The president added a pointed message about federal support for the city: “I can tell you this — whoever is mayor of New York is going to have to behave themselves or the federal government is going down very tough on them financially.” Should Mamdani win, Trump emphasized, “If he does get in, I’m going to be president and he’s going to have to do the right thing. They’re not getting any money.”

.@POTUS on Zohran Mamdani: “He’s a communist. I think it’s very bad for New York… but let’s say this: if he does get in, I’m going to be president and he’s going to have to do the right thing…” pic.twitter.com/YQaum1L9q5

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 29, 2025

Trump also touted his “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” claiming it would deliver $1.7 trillion in savings. “We’re cutting $1.7 trillion, think of it, I think I just saw the number a little while ago, but we can grow our country so much more than that,” the president said.

“You also have to get elected. When you do cutting, you have to be a little bit careful, because people don’t like, necessarily, the cutting if they get used to something,” the president added. “And what I want to do is to do it through growth. We’re gonna have growth like we’ve never seen before.”

Trump then said the bill would “take care” of border security and warned that its failure could trigger a 68% tax increase, underscoring the high stakes of the legislative push.

🇺🇸 TRUMP: “IF WE DON’T HAVE THE DEBT CEILING, THERE’S A 68% TAX INCREASE”

“The debt ceiling extension is very important.

Republicans gave a debt ceiling… they did that for the good of the country.

They did a big favor.

Now it’s [the Dems] turn to do it, and they won’t do… https://t.co/IWIzrIzaeC pic.twitter.com/Vytp64RJeO

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 29, 2025

The measure cleared its initial procedural vote in the Senate on Saturday, passing 51-49. Two Republican senators broke ranks, joining all Democrats in opposing the measure.

The interview also touched on Trump’s evolving relationship with SpaceX CEO and former Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, whom he praised as a “wonderful guy” despite a past falling out he described as “inappropriate.”

🇺🇸 TRUMP: “IF WE DON’T HAVE THE DEBT CEILING, THERE’S A 68% TAX INCREASE”

“The debt ceiling extension is very important.

Republicans gave a debt ceiling… they did that for the good of the country.

They did a big favor.

Now it’s [the Dems] turn to do it, and they won’t do… https://t.co/IWIzrIzaeC pic.twitter.com/Vytp64RJeO

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 29, 2025

On Saturday, Musk called Trump’s mega tax and spend bill “utterly insane and destructive,” arguing that it would harm innovative industries like solar, battery, and nuclear energy while favoring “industries of the past.”

Musk, whose company Tesla is a major player in battery storage and solar energy, warned that the legislation would “destroy millions of jobs” and cause “immense strategic harm” to the U.S.

By Thomas Kolbe

Now the cards are on the table. Amid the heated phase of trade talks with the U.S., Canada is introducing a digital tax that will burden American tech giants with billions in costs. In response, President Trump broke off talks with Ottawa and announced new tariffs.

Among poker players, you know the coldly calculating player: He calculates probabilities, weighs risks, and plays his hand with sober precision. Sitting beside him is the gambler – impulsive but not reckless. He acts spectacularly, yet within a strategic framework he masters with virtuosity. Now imagine a pathological exception alongside these archetypes: a player who reveals his cards before the round even begins, only to go all-in immediately after. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney falls into this category.

Brussels’ Governor in North America

The former Governor of the Bank of England, a committed globalist and climate crusader, and following the spectacular failure of Justin Trudeau, the new enforcer of the European agenda in North America, has gotten himself entangled in a geopolitical game of va banque with the announcement of a digital penalty tax on foreign tech companies.

The tax is set to take effect on July 1, retroactive to January 1, 2022, and will squeeze foreign tech firms with over 20 million Canadian dollars in revenue at a rate of three percent. Ottawa is calling for payment — aiming its arrow at the heart of America’s economic powerhouse, Silicon Valley. U.S. giants like Apple, Meta, and X face penalty payments exceeding two billion U.S. dollars.

An affront at the worst possible time (or was the escalation planned?), staged by a prime minister playing a weak hand from a position of weakness. Much like in Germany, productivity and per capita income have declined since the devastating lockdowns — the EU-inspired agenda of climate regulation, migration chaos, and a socialist redistribution state is cutting a swath of economic paralysis through society.

Carney proves to be the ideal candidate for that globalist elite steering resource-rich Canada into the next phase of its decline. In negotiations with Donald Trump, he acts entirely in the style of Brussels’ negotiating school: making maximal demands, refusing any form of compromise, and publicly prioritizing ideological principles over a rational negotiation path.

Missing the Turning Point

But this time, the script seems to call for a turning point: the response from Washington was swift — and decidedly blunt. Trump called Canada’s political leadership a “copy of the EU” in reaction to Carney’s digital tax, warning that new U.S. tariffs will soon follow.

Indeed, Ottawa is faithfully following Brussels’ line: censorship laws, regulation of media platforms, fiscal grabs on U.S. companies — all aimed at breaking American dominance in the digital sphere and, as a side benefit, easing the overstretched state budget a bit. What drives a prime minister at this stage of trade talks to escalate to the maximum level becomes clear if one follows Trump’s hinted line and understands Canada as a resource-rich EU satellite. Carney is intimately familiar only with the scorched earth strategy.

Thus, Trump’s uncompromising response sends an unmistakable signal to Brussels: the era of fair-weather diplomacy is over. You will have to move.

Trump Exposes Brussels’ Lying Machine

As Europeans who claim free self-determination and individual sovereignty, we should be thankful to Donald Trump. As at the start of the trade dispute with the EU, he shines a glaring spotlight on Ottawa’s protectionism in Canada’s case. The public needs more evidence of Brussels’ often cleverly disguised protectionism and its Canadian branch office. Trump explicitly mentioned in his reply to Carney the tariff barrier of up to 400 percent Canada long imposed against American agriculture well before the tariff dispute.

Lies, moralizing manipulation of apodictic opinion, and cold-blooded protectionism — that most clearly describes the Brussels line.

In public discourse, EU Europe always portrays itself as the defender of free trade, as a liberal and open order power. Behind the scenes, however, they overwhelm non-European competitors with a web of harmonization duties, climate regulations, and rulebooks that kill fair competition in the cradle. A free trade with built-in entry barriers and a minefield to deter newcomers — technically well-packaged, morally justified, economically devastating.

Trump’s hard line on Brussels and Canada also makes him an enlightener of geopolitical reality. It is to be expected that in the trade dispute with Brussels, we will encounter more, hitherto undisclosed, instruments from the European protectionism toolbox. As said: the cards are now on the table.

Warning Signal to the “Five Eyes”

The clumsy escalation attempt by the Canadian prime minister has exposed a geopolitical fault line: on one side, the United States and its partners, committed to values of freedom. Think here of Argentina’s President Javier Milei. On the other side, a globalist cartel is forming, led by EU Brussels and its satellites like Ottawa. Thanks to the internal political turn of the Trump administration, this difference is now glaringly clear. While in Europe, politics, unions, churches, and the “cordon sanitaire” of the green-socialist agenda — consisting of a host of NGOs and state media — blindly defend the woke climate and redistribution agenda, the wind has already shifted in the U.S.

The violent clashes in heavily European-influenced strongholds of California underscore the growing pressure from the new U.S. administration on these milieus. The same goes for migration policy. Here, the chasm between the U.S. and the EU is so wide that even the trained eye, looking through the rose-colored glasses of European propaganda, can no longer hide reality: the U.S. is handling its migration crisis and returning to internal political seriousness.

Trump sends a clear signal to the Western world: whoever tries to siphon off America’s innovative strength or block it through regulation will be declared a pariah without hesitation. Delivered via Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, this message from yesterday is addressed to the EU, to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom — and to the tech industry in Silicon Valley itself, which can now be assured of White House backing.

“We will let Canada know what tariff they must pay to do business with the United States of America,” Trump said. The U.S. president is not just imposing an economic sanction — he is putting the true power relations, visible to all, in the spotlight. Anyone who wants to do business on the world’s largest single market will have to accept the host’s rules. This is the new sound people will have to get used to — fast.

America’s New Role

Just as in monetary policy, where the U.S. succeeded in abandoning London’s City and the LIBOR mechanism controlled by European banks by introducing the SOFR system, a new American course is emerging geopolitically. Trump’s May trip through the Middle East also set a new tone: business took center stage, early attempts at a new mercantile order in the region are emerging. Whether Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or the United Arab Emirates — Trump convinced them all to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the reindustrialization of the United States.

No European moralizing, no divisive politics to consolidate power locally — Trump is daring to reorder the Middle East.

Hectic Weeks Ahead

And Europe? Much like in the case of the elimination of Iran’s nuclear program by the U.S. military or the rare earth deal involving Ukraine, European politics no longer even plays a supporting role. It has become irrelevant. There are retreat battles and distractions, like Canada’s digital tax, which reveal the geopolitical weakness of the Old Continent. Europe is stuck on the defensive — dependent on third-party energy flows, entangled in the Ukraine conflict, and powerless in managing global trade.

Transferring this geopolitical loss of relevance of Europeans to the upcoming trade talks with the U.S., we can expect spectacular Brussels flips, media squabbles, and the usual vilification of the U.S. president in frenzied media. The Euro cartel and its allies have yet to intellectually or politically make the leap forward.

Just as Brussels mistakenly assumes that it has gotten off lightly with Trump accepting the NATO 2% goal as sufficient for now, hoping to slip back into familiar behavioral patterns and delay tactics, a bitter truth threatens in the trade dispute: the U.S. is serious, and it will solve its domestic problems by returning to American values of free-market economy, minimal state, and personal responsibility. And these values will be defended abroad with maximum severity.

* * * 

Thomas Kolbe is a German graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination.

For those who turned into the live debate last night, we apologize for the ”demonstration of Wirecast” mantra that played repeatedly. This was not a mass MK Ultra sleeper cell activation but a glitch with our streaming software. And, yes, we have an active Wirecast subscription. So… please direct your hate mail to support@telestream.net.

That aside — Keith Knight, Mike Benz, and Cenk Uygur — respectively the abolitionist, reformist, and proponent — had a great debate. Here were the highlights for those who missed it:

“I see a lot of bathwater and very little baby.”

Responding to Cenk’s defense of USAID’s HIV programs with the phrase, “Keep the baby with the bathwater,” Benz retorted sharply: “I see a lot of bathwater and very little baby,” citing forced sterilizations in Peru and aggressive abortion campaigns in Latin America and Africa as evidence that USAID is sometimes involved in “the opposite of saving babies… USAID is taking the lives of babies.”

Benz further detailed covert operations masked as health aid, referencing a CIA-backed, USAID-funded fake vaccine program in Pakistan that collected blood and DNA under the guise of counterterrorism. “Nobody would think [HIV prevention] would be where they would establish a recruiting office for regime change,” he noted on a similar program in Cuba. Even massive charity efforts like Band Aid and Live Aid come under fire, with Benz alleging that “of the 100 million raised, 95 million went to purchase weapons for rebels in Somalia.” In sum, Benz urges scrutiny: “We have to look at what USAID is doing vs. what they say they are doing.”

🔥🔥”Instead of throwing out the entire budget..THE ENTIRE BUDGET WITH BATHWATER” – Cenk@cenkuygur begins to “inform” everyone on HIV alone we have 25 million lives saved via USAID programs and how that have spread even further…”Keep the baby with the bath water”
Benz… pic.twitter.com/D5dSxssBtO

— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) June 29, 2025

“When it’s too dirty for the CIA…”

Benz’s view boiled down: USAID is a cover arm of U.S. foreign policy.

“USAID at its heart is a CIA function.” Even seemingly benign programs—whether about “food security, public health, independent media, [or] rule of law”—are, according to Benz, “secretly accomplishing some goal the State Department wants to achieve.”

These programs can also channel funds back home to prop up the “political apparatus” through kickbacks. Benz underscored the lack of oversight, warning that “USAID has only ONE METHOD OF ACCOUNTABILITY… The Inspector General,” and that it can “block Congress,” effectively bypassing legislative checks. Pointing to the Zunzuneo scandal—USAID’s secret attempt to incite an Arab Spring-style uprising in Cuba—Benz noted that when the operation was exposed, “Obama denied knowledge because he didn’t give a presidential finding & the Congress & Senate said we didn’t know this was happening.”

“Foreign aid has gone way too rogue,” he concluded, noting that USAID has now been expelled from eight countries. His prescription is one of reform: “USAID has to go into the shop for repairs before it is driven back out onto the road again.”

On the @zerohedge Foreign Aid Debate, Mike Benz briefly explains USAID is a vehicle used to employ covert tactics without requiring executive approval.
” IF IT’S TOO DIRTY FOR THE CIA..GIVE IT TO USAID” – BENZ
@MikeBenzCyber that “ USAID at its heart is a CIA FUNCTION & You… pic.twitter.com/qMxU5c36OS

— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) June 28, 2025

For the abolitionist perspective — i.e. no foreign aid whatsoever — tune into the full debate below for remarks by Keith Knight, editor at Scott Horton’s Libertarian Institute. Knight is one of the brightest young thinkers among modern libertarians:

https://t.co/A2uwg4HOYH

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 28, 2025
 

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

While everyone has been preoccupied with the war in the Middle East and the anti-ICE protests going on around the nation, economic conditions in the U.S. have continued to deteriorate.  The housing market is in abysmal shape, consumer spending is down and layoffs are way up.   Meanwhile, fear of our seemingly endless cost of living crisis is preventing the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates, and we shouldn’t expect any additional “economic stimulus” from our politicians in Washington any time soon because the federal government is already facing an unprecedented debt crisis.  In other words, our economy is a giant mess and the cavalry isn’t going to come riding along to save us.

If you find yourself deeply struggling in this difficult economic environment, you are definitely not alone.  

The following are 11 signs that the entire country is facing enormous economic challenges right now…

#1 Sales of new homes in the United States absolutely tanked last month…

Sales of new single-family homes dropped 13.7% in May compared with April to 623,000 units on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis, according to the U.S. Census.

That sales total was 6.3% lower than May 2024 and well below both the six-month average of 671,000 and the one-year average of 676,000. It also lags the pre-pandemic average in 2019 of 685,000 units sold.

Wall Street analysts were expecting May new home sales of 695,000, according to estimates from Dow Jones.

#2 According to the latest numbers that we have been given, home prices in the U.S. have fallen for two months in a row…

After US home pries declined in March (the latest data) for the first time in over two years, this morning’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index data was expected to show another drop in the cost of buying a home.

And the consensus was right but way off in magnitude as prices in April tumbled 0.31% MoM (-0.02% exp) – the biggest MoM drop since Dec 2022…

#3 Last month, existing home sales in the U.S. were the worst that we have seen during the month of May since 2009.

#4 Retail sales fell even more than expected last month…

Consumer spending pulled back sharply in May, weighed down by declining gas sales and looming unease over where the economy is headed, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Retail sales declined 0.9%, even more than the 0.6% drop expected from the Dow Jones consensus, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. The decline followed a 0.1% loss in April and came at a time of unease over tariffs and geopolitical tensions.

#5 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is warning that the labor market “deteriorated noticeably” during the first quarter of this year…

Economic research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated the labor market “deteriorated noticeably” in the first quarter of 2025, with those just entering the workforce taking the hardest hits.

The Labor Department reported that employers added 139,000 jobs in May while unemployment held steady at 4.2%. The unemployment rate for all college grads was 2.7%, but the rate for those between the ages of 22 and 27 years old jumped to 5.8%, according to the New York Federal Reserve. That’s the highest reading since 2021.

#6 According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers announced 47 percent more job cuts in May 2025 than they did in May 2024…

Layoffs of U.S. workers were nearly 50% higher in May than they were a year ago, with reductions attributed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) remaining the leading reason for job cuts this year, according to a new report.

Global outplacement Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday released a report that said there were 93,816 job cuts announced by U.S. employers in May. That amounts to an increase of 47% from 63,816 announced last May, while last month’s figure was down 12% from 105,441 cuts in April.

#7 For the first five months of this year, U.S. employers announced 80 percent more job cuts than they did during the first five months of last year…

That brings the total number of job cuts announced this year to 696,309 — an increase of 80% from the 385,859 jobs cut in the first five months of 2024. This year’s total is just 65,049 job cuts away from matching the 2024 annual total.

“Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies’ workforces. Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

#8 Factories in California are permanently shutting down at a staggering pace…

All within a week, California lost Amy’s Kitchen’s San Jose plant (331 jobs), Anheuser-Busch’s Oakland warehouse complex (142 jobs), and several smaller plants, all for unsustainable prices and operational disruption.

Amy’s Kitchen, for example, was losing $1 million monthly, consumed by inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain problems. Anheuser-Busch’s exodus, conversely, left workers in suspense as the plant changed hands without a guarantee of employment.

It is not bad luck, evidence of a business environment where even legendary companies can’t survive the relentless fiscal squeeze.

#9 More than 3 percent of Paramount’s entire workforce will be hitting the bricks…

Paramount Global is trimming its U.S. workforce by 3.5% in a move to cut costs.

The company’s plans to cut jobs were announced Tuesday by its three co-CEOs in a company-wide memo viewed by FOX Business.

Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins said in the message that Paramount was “taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization this week.”

#10 Microsoft is cutting jobs in its gaming division for the fourth time in 18 months…

Microsoft is planning another round of cuts at Xbox as part of the tech giant’s ongoing reorganization.

Xbox managers are expecting substantial job cuts across the entire group as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. This marks the fourth time Microsoft downsized its gaming division in the past 18 months, the outlet reported. Several video game studios at the company’s Xbox division were shuttered in 2024, too.

#11 At this point, things are so bad that even Google is reducing headcount…

Google on Tuesday offered buyouts to employees across several of its divisions, including those within its knowledge and information and central engineering units as well as marketing, research and communications teams, CNBC has learned.

Knowledge and information, or K&I, is the unit that houses Google’s search, ads and commerce divisions. The buyouts Tuesday are the company’s latest effort to reduce headcount, which Google has continued to do in waves since laying off 12,000 employees in 2023.

CNBC could not confirm how many employees were impacted by the latest round of buyouts. The Information reported earlier that the company offered buyouts to employees in the search and ads unit.

Our ongoing economic decline is just one element of the “perfect storm” that we are now experiencing.

Everywhere around us, chaos is erupting.

Unfortunately, I believe that conditions will become even more chaotic in the months ahead.

If you currently have a job that you value, I would hold on to it as tightly as you can.

We all remember what happened in 2008 and 2009, and now it appears that another very serious downturn has arrived.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Socialists always rise to power in the midst of failed liberal leadership.  The assumption being that liberal policies accomplish nothing because they “don’t go far enough” to push the collectivist values of wealth redistribution and equity-based cultural engineering.  If only the political left asserted more control over people’s lives and property, all the ailments of American society would magically disappear.

In most cases socialism also fails to make people’s lives better.  Though one could argue that it does eventually achieve its goals of equal wealth – Socialism makes everyone equally poor.  In countries where socialism actually finds “success” a couple of factors are always present:  A small population that avoids multiculturalism and mixed demographics, and access to abundant natural resources.   

Wherever socialism in introduced into an otherwise prosperous economy, the standard of living automatically degrades.  When socialism is used as a bandage to stop the financial bleeding of a depressed market wounded by liberal management, it always makes things far worse.

The city of New York is on the verge of learning this lesson the hard way with the sudden popularity of mayoral candidate Zohran Mandani.  Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old assemblyman, democratic socialist and “rap music producer”, defied expectations when he pulled well ahead to presumed victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s June 24 Democratic mayoral primary. 

While there were 11 candidates on the ranked-choice ballot, preliminary polling named Cuomo and Mamdani the front-runners by a large margin. Cuomo frequently polled above Mamdani in the weeks leading up to voting day, but the former governor ultimately ended up calling his opponent on Tuesday night to concede.  Mamdani led Cuomo 44% to 36% among first-place votes, with 96% of ballots counted as of around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25

A Muslim immigrant born and raised in Uganda, Mamdani only became a legal citizen in the US in 2018.  He supports communistic economic reforms and woke social engineering concepts.  If you thought NYC could not be any worse, get ready because if Mamdani becomes Mayor his policies will prove the progressive enclave has far further to fall.  A look at his campaign proposals reveals a disturbing list of childish ideas that would put the final nail in New York’s coffin.

Rent And Housing Controls

New York already made this deadly mistake during the covid lockdowns when they applied an eviction moratorium from 2020 to 2022.  Government property controls in any form tend to force owners out of rental markets, compelling them to sell their properties in order to avoid losing money in the future maintaining homes and apartment buildings that don’t bring in a profit.

As owners sell, renters are made homeless and the supply shrinks, causing rents to skyrocket even higher.  The vacancy rate for rental housing in NYC has dropped to 1.4%, (the lowest since 1968).

Mamdani has consistently called for multi-year rent price freeze and acts as if property owners are the source of New York’s rent inflation.  In reality, the prices are rising because of basic supply and demand.  A price freeze would not solve the the problem of diminishing supply for renters.  In fact, it would drive more owners out of the market and reduce the supply even further.  Prices might be suppressed by the government, but more and more people will have to leave New York or become homeless. 

The result would be a disaster for the city as the population shrinks and tax revenues decline, and Mamdani’s reforms require more taxes, not less. 

The candidate hopes to offset the supply problem with government subsidized housing, but this will mean billions in tax expenditures over the course of the next ten years.  Similar efforts in California have resulted in disaster along with billions in wasted taxes and their homeless problem has only increased.  Building housing is also expensive and socialists can’t make contractors work for free.  The solution would be for progressive politicians to drastically reduce regulations on construction and cut taxes, but they will never do this.

Defunding The Police

Mamdani has long been a proponent of defunding the police along with other woke notions of reducing crime by reducing enforcement.  He has recently changed his position, claiming he will not cut funding to police as New Yorkers grow increasingly fearful of theft and violence.  However, his policies remain suspect and he argues that criminal violence “is an artificial construct”.

Zohran Mamdani on why he wants to empty jails: “VioIence is an artificial construct” pic.twitter.com/N4G7jSmEDX

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 26, 2025

He plans to create a “Department of Community Safety”, a proposal that includes increased investment in mental health programs and crisis response, expanding “evidence-based gun violence prevention programs” and increasing funding to “hate violence prevention programs” by 800%. 

In other words, Mamdani is going to pursue strict gun controls that will disarm law abiding citizens, making them easier to victimize.  Furthermore, focus on mental health will likely come at the expense of actual prosecution and jail time for offenders, meaning repeat criminals will run rampant.  “Hate violence” is a non-issue in NYC unless one counts attacks on Asians, often committed by black perpetrators as video evidence shows.  This is not something that a leftist like Mamdani will acknowledge.

As we have seen in leftist cities like Seattle and Portland, overt restrictions on policing lead to a law enforcement exodus.  Cops quit in droves and move away, leaving the population with less protection and more crime.

City Owned Grocery Stores

Leftists are outraged by the fact that retailers are closing up shop in high crime neighborhoods, leaving residents with “food deserts” and less jobs.  The thing is, the residents are the problem, not the companies that are forced to leave to avoid constant theft. 

On top of this, grocery prices are incredibly high after the stagflation crisis struck under the Biden Administration, leaving Democrats struggling to find a way to reduce costs and avoid losing even more of their working class voter base. 

Mamdani’s solution is, of course, more price controls.  This time through government operated grocery stores. Mamdani has said he plans to address the cost of food by creating city-owned grocery stores that will pay no rent or property taxes, buy and sell at wholesale prices from centralized warehouses and partner with local vendors to keep prices down.  Meaning, the city would have to manage the entire supply chain to these stores in order to get the price cuts Mamdani wants.

Typically this leads suppliers to stop supplying as their profits shrink to nothing when dealing with socialist government buyers.  One must also ask why Mamdani doesn’t simply reduce taxes on existing retailers in exchange for helping food prices go down?  Government grocery stores with price controls might lower costs for consumers, but they would also destroy local competition, causing more and more companies to leave NYC, creating even more “food deserts”.

Raising Minimum Wage To $30

The minimum wage debate is built on naivety.  Socialist think they can dictate one aspect of the free market without negative consequences on all other aspects of the free market.  Mamdani’s plan to raise New York City’s minimum wage to $30 would be devastating to the economy, driving employers out of the area.  The same thing that happened when Seattle raised their minimum wage to $20, and California is experiencing an exodus of fast food jobs after they raised wages to $20.  

The only way this idea would not end with businesses fleeing the city is if the government forced a tax as punishment for companies that relocate (as California tried to do). 

Higher Taxes On “Richer And Whiter” Neighborhoods

Mamdani is fully onboard with DEI initiatives including race based wealth redistribution.  In his “Soak The Rich” proposal, Mamdani states:  

“Shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods…”

While many New Yorkers support the idea of balancing property taxes, the candidate’s calls to target “white neighborhoods” has raised concerns that he is seeking to implement hidden reparations through race-based taxation. 

At bottom, Mamdani’s campaign is rooted in an even more extreme version of the platform that led to the defeat of the Democratic Party in 2024.  As mayor in NYC, it’s inevitable that these policies would destroy what remains of New York’s already struggling economy and trigger a capital flight the likes of which the city has never seen before.