Extreme Commanders

Trump is said to be planning to accept a luxury 747 from Qatar for use as Air Force One.

The Trump administration plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation from the Qatari royal family that will be upgraded to serve as Air Force One, which would make it one of the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S. government, several American officials with knowledge of the matter said.

The plane would then be donated to President Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, two senior officials said. Such a gift raises the possibility that Mr. Trump would have use of the plane even after his presidency ends.

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Sounds like a huge security issue. The thing will probably be bugged to the hilt, and god knows whether they will have any remote equipment onboard. That and the fact that it is corrupt as hell to accept that kind of gift.

Trump envoy relied on Kremlin interpreter in meetings with Putin to end war in Ukraine

Using the Kremlin’s interpreter was “a very bad idea” that put Witkoff “at a real disadvantage,” Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, told NBC News.

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Trump to sign executive order to cut prescription drug prices by 30% to 80% — he says to match other countries

President Trump vowed to bring “FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!” by deeply slashing prescription drug prices through an executive order he plans to sign Monday morning.

Trump promised to implement what he called “most favored nation” pricing, which would cut pharmaceutical and prescription drug prices “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%,” he announced in a Truth Social post Sunday night.

“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” he added.

The US spends $400 billion on prescription drugs every year — often triple what other countries spend and typically more than any other nation.

Trump said he wants to get rid of the gap. He did not offer any details in his announcement — which he teased beforehand as “one of the most important and impactful” Truths he’s ever posted — but promised to deliver them in his executive order Monday morning.

With his announcement, the commander-in-chief is revisiting a similar proposal that he tried to implement during his first administration, that was blocked by federal courts and then rescinded by the Biden administration.

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Just saying it won't make it happen. These things have to be negotiated. For someone so conversant in "The Art of the Deal" he doesn't seem very good at making them. I mean, just look at all the trade deals that have been signed that he said would happen in 90 days.

So here is the first significant step in a trade deal with China:

U.S. and China agree to slash tariffs for 90 days in major trade breakthrough

The U.S. and China on Monday agreed to temporarily suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods in a move that shows a major thawing of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The trade agreement means that “reciprocal” tariffs between both countries will be cut from 125% to 10%. The U.S.′ 20% duties on Chinese imports relating to fentanyl will remain in place, meaning total tariffs on China stand at 30%.

The breakthrough comes after U.S. and China trade representatives held high-stakes talks in Switzerland over the weekend.

“We had very productive talks and I believe that the venue, here in Lake Geneva, added great equanimity to what was a very positive process,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news conference.

“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially move down the tariff levels. Both sides on the reciprocal tariffs will move their tariffs down 115%,” Bessent said.

The pause will begin Wednesday. Both China and the U.S. said they will continue discussions on economic and trade policy.

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Let's see how the markets react to this news.