As Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on some of America’s biggest global trading partners come into effect, including a huge 104 percent levy on imported Chinese goods to which Beijing has responded by introducing an 84 percent retaliatory levy on U.S. imports in return, the president has urged the public to stay calm.
“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”
Last night, the president delivered a marathon address at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual fundraising gala in Washington at which he likewise attempted to reassure GOP lawmakers and donors that his tariff strategy had already left fellow world leaders “kissing my a**” as they seek exemptions.
He also promised his conservative audience that his program would secure their party a “monumental victory” in next year’s midterms.
“I know what the hell I’m doing,” he insisted. “I know what I’m doing, and you know what I’m doing too.”
The president further used the occasion to warn of impending tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in an effort to bully companies into relocating their production facilities to the U.S.
New York judge blocks deportations without hearings
A federal judge in New York has blocked the deportation of any alleged Venezuelan gang member detained in the Southern District of New York without first receiving notice and an opportunity for a hearing, as per the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The decision from District Judge Alvin Hellerstein follows a lawsuit from two plaintiffs who were pulled off planes to El Salvador and transferred back to New York from Texas, where they were initially detained.
The Republican plan to silence millions of voters
Voting rights advocates are sounding the alarm after Trump and House Republicans roll out sweeping changes to how elections are run, Alex Woodward reports.
IRS chief resigns after Trump administration strikes deal to share undocumented taxpayer data
The acting chief of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is resigning from the role after Donald Trump’s administration struck up a deal for the agency to share undocumented immigrants’ taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security.
A deal from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent allows Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to collect confidential IRS data for immigration enforcement as part of Trump’s deportation blitz.
The administration filed a redacted version of the agreement in court filings but Melanie Krause, who is the third acting IRS commissioner under Trump, reportedly had only learned of the deal by switching on Fox News.
Alex Woodward has the latest.
Jamie Dimon tells Fox that recession is ‘likely’ and he expects defaults amid trade war
Here’s Justin Baragona with more on the JPMorgan boss’s pessimistic Fox Business interview with Maria Bartiromo earlier.
‘We got our a***s kicked’: Steve Bannon shreds Elon Musk after Wisconsin loss
Trump’s former senior advisor has thrown another jab at Musk, this time over the Republicans getting their “a***s kicked” in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.
The GOP mega-donor poured more than $20 million into conservative candidate Brad Schimel’s campaign coffers, only for him to be thwarted by liberal Susan Crawford on April 1.
This means the liberals retained ideological control of the state’s High Court with a 4-3 majority.
The race was considered the first big test of the Trump administration and was seen as a referendum on the president.
Speaking to conservative British news channel GB News a week after the election, Bannon candidly said: “People should know we got our a***s kicked. It was a big defeat.”
James Liddell has more.
Exclusive: Mar-a-Lago to get $1.8 million in ‘security enhancements’ as DOGE takes a chainsaw to government spending
The taxpayer-funded upgrades to the president’s Florida home come while spending on education and public health is gutted and entire federal agencies are eliminated by Trump and “First Buddy” Elon Musk.
Here’s Justin Rohrlich’s report.
Trump admin refuses to engage with reporters who include their pronouns in email signatures
Journalists who include their preferred pronouns in email signatures are less likely to get a response from the White House or other members of the Trump administration when they reach out for comment.
Following the president’s crackdown on transgender rights and gender ideology in the federal government, administration officials have seemingly taken steps to suppress reporters from using terminology that acknowledges the existence of non-binary or trans people.
That includes refusing to respond to reporters’ emails when they include preferred pronouns in their signature such as “she/her” or “he/him” or “they/them.”
Ariana Baio has more.
Dave Chappelle’s scathing take on Trump’s policies goes viral as trade war escalates
As the world reels from the impact of the president’s reciprocal tariffs, a video mocking his plan by comedian Dave Chappelle has resurfaced from eight years ago.
Trump sent stock markets plummeting when he announced the stiff levies, with even his close advisor Elon Musk openly questioning the policy.
But the world’s richest man is by far the first to question the logic of Trump going to economic war with the world.
“High people ideas,” is how Trump’s policies are described in a viral clip of Chappelle from 2017, which is being shared online after the White House broke decades of international trade convention.
“Like, he doesn’t think these things through before he tells us. He just tells us what he’s thinking as soon as it occurs to him,” Chappelle says in the clip.
Alex Croft has more.
‘Why are we doing this?’ Maria Baritromo asks Scott Bessent
Why indeed.
The Treasury Secretary certainly cannot offer a coherent explanation here.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was also on her show this morning, incidentally, and said that America slamming into recession is now “a likely outcome” of Trump’s actions, a prospect he looks oddly cheerful about.
Meanwhile, one of Bessent’s predecessors, Larry Summers, has warned that the advent of a recession could mean the loss of 2 million American jobs.
Here’s Mike Bedigan on that one.
Kristi Noem roasted for her gun handling skills in ICE photo-op
Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary is being blasted online for posing with a rifle pointing dangerously close to an officer’s face in a new social media video in which she once again attempts to look tough in uniform.
Kelly Rissman has the fallout.
Source: independent.co.uk