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Trump’s Popularity Increases Despite Media Attacks

Yet despite all this, President Trump has not only survived but actually seen an uptick in his approval rating (currently 51% in Rasmussen). So I ask, in the words of the legendary Nature Boy Ric Flair, “What’s causing all this?”

Stocks fell sharply Friday as worries of a trade war between the U.S. and China grew. Wall Street also assessed employment data that missed analyst expectations.

The Dow tumbled more than 550 points, with Boeing and Caterpillar as the biggest decliners. Earlier the index was down more than 700 points. The S&P 500 sank more than 2 percent, with industrials as the worst-performing sector. The Nasdaq also dropped more than 2 percent.

"This is truly a reaction to China," said JJ Kinahan, a chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. "What we've seen with this administration is a trend of a big statement, followed by everyone getting riled up, and then a pragmatic solution is found. Cooler heads may prevail moving forward."

After China announced new tariffs on 106 U.S. products Wednesday, President Donald Trump threatened more levies on Thursday, stating that he has asked the United States Trade Representative to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China.

U.S. stock futures plunged on the news, while global stock markets fell. China's Commerce Ministry said Friday the country will not hesitate to react with a "major response to the new tariffs from the U.S.

Trump later tweeted on Friday: "China, which is a great economic power, is considered a Developing Nation within the World Trade Organization. They therefore get tremendous perks and advantages, especially over the U.S. Does anybody think this is fair. We were badly represented. The WTO is unfair to U.S."

Boeing and Caterpillar, two companies that could be adversely affected by a trade war with China, both fell more than 3.5 percent.

Shares of large-cap tech companies also fell. Apple and Amazon both declined more than 2 percent, while Netflix dropped 1.3 percent after briefly trading higher.

Stocks briefly came off their lows in midday trading after an official from Mexico's economic ministry said the person was "very convinced" a new deal on NAFTA will be reached soon.

The move lower in stocks also follows the release of much weaker-than-expected jobs data. The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs in March. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 193,000.

"I'd call this one a mixed bag. The headline number may disappoint but there's more than meets the eye," said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade, noting that wages improved and unemployment remains at historically low levels.

"For investors, today's report may be a tough one to swallow when coupled with a trade standoff that seems to be intensifying with each passing day," Loewengart said.

Investors pored over the data to looking for any indications as to how the U.S. is performing and what this means for the Federal Reserve when it comes to the future path of raising interest rates.

Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, said the Fed is still on track to raise rates a total of three times this year. However, an increase in trade tensions complicates matters for the central bank.

"The Fed does not want to be in the business of disruption," he said. "On the other hand, tariffs can be inflationary. That puts the Fed between a rock and a hard place."

“He likes the work product,” she said of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Pruitt has been dogged by a series of scandals in recent weeks, including revelations that he rented a condominium co-owned by the wife of an energy lobbyist for $50 per night; that he spent more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded first-class travel, which the E.P.A. has argued was necessary because of security concerns; and that the agency sidelined or demoted at least five high-ranking agency employees who had raised questions about his spending.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Mr. Kelly’s unheeded advice to Mr. Trump, which marked the escalation of a quiet but intense turn in the West Wing against Mr. Pruitt. Privately, many senior White House aides have become infuriated with the E.P.A. chief and exasperated with his ethical lapses, believing that it is only a matter of time before his special standing with the president wears off.

That does not seem to have happened yet.

On April 28, 1945 — 73 years ago — Italians hung the corpse of their former dictator Benito Mussolini upside down next to a gas station in Milan. Two days later, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker beneath the streets of war-ravaged Berlin. Fascism, it appeared, was dead.

thinking hanging him upside down a la Mussolini was her suggestion at how to stop Trump.

sorta like what you guys

What a maroon.

Union members have at times been badly served by their leadership — but so have members of political parties, international relief organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and pretty much any large organization which fails to remain vigilant in the fight against corruption and the concentration of power.

Allen Marshall
‏@AllenCMarshall
BREAKING: All 3 Sinclair-owned TV stations in Idaho refusing to air mandatory anti-media promos that accuse national media of spreading “fake news,” saying that their reporters "are committed to producing the best, most informative & accurate content for our viewers.”

As the results came in on Nov. 8, 2016, liberals quite reasonably felt that they had suffered an absolute cataclysm. But it’s now looking increasingly possible that the election of Donald Trump could be the best thing that has happened to the left and the Democratic Party in decades.

A new poll from The Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation shows just how much activism the Trump presidency has generated...

..We don’t yet know what the effects of all this activism will be in the long run. But I have zero doubt that in years to come there will be Democratic mayors, governors, senators and maybe even a president or two who will say, “Why did I get involved in politics? It all started when Donald Trump got elected.”.

Allen Marshall
@AllenCMarshall

Austin TX IT professional, geek, comic book lover (most things vertigo), internet addict, martial artist, runner, INTJ