Actress Kristen Stewart said she’s considering leaving the United States, adding that she would still make films for American audiences, even if it meant “shov[ing] them down the throat of the American people.&#8221; 
The 35-year-old made the remarks during an <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/kristen-stewart-interview-chronology-of-water-directing-women-actors-z8ck5kdcz">interview</a> with “The Times,” in the U.K. Stewart is currently promoting her directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” which was shot in Latvia because it “would have been impossible to do in the States.&#8221; She condemned President Donald Trump&#8217;s proposed tariffs on movies made outside of the United States, calling them &#8220;terrifying.&#8221;
“Reality is breaking completely under Trump,” Stewart told the outlet. “But we should take a page out of his book and create the reality we want to live in.” 
When the interviewer asked if she was planning to continue living in the United States, the actress replied, “Probably not. I can’t work freely there. But I don’t want to give up completely. I’d like to make movies in Europe and then shove them down the throat of the American people.”
The president reiterated in September that he intends to impose tariffs to incentivize production in the United States. 
“Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit! Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States,” the president shared in a Truth Social post, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-hes-imposing-100-tariff-on-movies-made-outside-united-states">reported</a>.
In May last year, Trump said Hollywood was dying a “very fast death,” calling incentives from other countries to produce movies outside of the United States “a national security threat.” 
“Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated,” the president said at the time. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart Eyes Leaving U.S., Says She’d ‘Shove’ Her Movies ‘Down The Throat’ Of Americans

Celebrities

Donald Trump

Hollywood

Movies

Tariffs

On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump threatened Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with a steep 100% tariff if he follows through on a recent deal with communist China.
&#8220;If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a &#8216;Drop Off Port&#8217; for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,&#8221; the president wrote on Truth Social.
Notably, Trump mockingly referred to the PM as &#8220;Governor Carney,&#8221; as the president has repeatedly said in the past that he&#8217;d like to turn Canada into the 51st state of the U.S. &#8212; a proposition Carney very much did not like.
&#8220;China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.&#8221;
On Friday, Carney announced a new Canada-China trade deal that partially rolls back tariffs on both sides. Under the agreement, Canada will allow a limited number of Chinese electric vehicles to enter the country at reduced tariffs, while China will significantly cut or pause tariffs on major Canadian agricultural exports like canola, seafood, and peas.
Carney called the deal “historic and productive.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s threat for a 100% tariff follows drama at the World Economic Forum. Carney criticized the U.S. for its ambition to purchase Greenland, sparking a tough response from Trump.
“I watched your prime minister yesterday,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/11622445/donald-trump-mark-carney-davos-speech/">said</a> on Wednesday. &#8220;He wasn’t so grateful, but they should be grateful to us. Canada lives because of the United States.&#8221;
“Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,&#8221; he continued.
“All we want from Denmark for national and international security and to keep our very energetic and dangerous potential enemies at bay is this land on which we’re going to build the greatest golden dome ever built,” said Trump.
“We’re building a golden dome that’s going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way,&#8221; the president added. &#8220;They should be grateful also, but they’re not.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-uninvites-canada-from-his-gaza-board-of-peace-after-davos-drama">Trump Uninvites Canada From His Gaza ‘Board Of Peace’ After Davos Drama</a>

Trump Threatens Canada With Massive Tariff After PM Carney Makes Deal With China

Canada

Communist China

Global Politics

World

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&amp;P 500 posting its biggest one-day percentage gain in two months, as investors were buoyed by news that a framework for an agreement on Greenland had been reached and the possibility of new U.S. tariffs on European allies had been averted.
Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also enjoyed milestone days, gaining the most in percentage terms since January 5 and December 19, respectively.
The advances stood in stark contrast to the previous day&#8217;s selloff, which had been the worst daily performance by all three benchmarks since October 10, and reflected U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s use of tariff threats to press his agenda before pivoting once the policy victory could be declared.
&#8220;We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,&#8221; Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. &#8220;Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.&#8221;
Wall Street benchmarks had been trading in positive territory at the time of the announcement, but soared in its wake as investors cheered the aversion of a potential new tariff war over the future of Greenland.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think who owns Greenland has any immediate impact on anything, in terms of economics,&#8221; said Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy &amp; research at Glenmede.
&#8220;What is the economic impact is whether we all start imposing tariffs on each other,&#8221; he added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 588.64 points, or 1.21%, to 49,077.23, the S&amp;P 500 gained 78.76 points, or 1.16%, to 6,875.62, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 270.50 points, or 1.18%, to 23,224.83.
Before the mid-afternoon Greenland announcement, Wall Street had been broadly positive, as investors responded to Tuesday&#8217;s bruising selloff. However, while initial momentum had propelled benchmarks more than 1% higher, this energy had been ebbing by early afternoon.
While light on details, Trump&#8217;s announcement allowed markets to focus on underlying strengths within the U.S. economy, including strong earnings from banks.
The latest wave of results from lenders, including some of the largest superregional names, helped send the regional banking index soaring 4.7% to its highest close since November 2024.
Citizens Financial Group surged 7.1% to a record closing high, on the back of a 31.7% jump in quarterly profit. Truist Financial Corp climbed 1.8% after recording higher interest income and fees from investment banking.
All the S&amp;P 500 subsectors rose, led by energy. It was buoyed by Halliburton, which gained 4.1% after earnings beat estimates, while EQT Corp and Expand Energy advanced 6.5% and 4.5% respectively, as natural gas prices hit a six-week high on cold weather.
United Airlines rose 2.2% after the carrier issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter and the full year. Other airlines benefited from the positive sentiment, with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Southwest all gaining between 1.1% and 2.4%.
Meanwhile, Netflix dropped 2.2% after reporting a muted outlook in its latest earnings. The streaming giant&#8217;s stock was also weighed by a pause in share buybacks to help fund the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery&#8217;s studio and streaming businesses.
Kraft Heinz fell 5.7% after a regulatory filing showed Berkshire Hathaway may shed its 27.5% stake in the consumer company.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shilpi Majumdar)

FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York

Wall Street Ends Higher As Investors Cheer Greenland Framework Deal, Averted Tariffs

Europe

Greenland

Wall Street

The European Union, one of America&#8217;s largest trading partners, voted on Wednesday to pause a trade deal with the United States that was initially agreed upon last summer. The finalization of the major trade deal is now uncertain over the bloc&#8217;s opposition to President Donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to acquire Greenland.
European Parliament member Bernd Lange said that Trump&#8217;s plans to impose a 10% tariff on European countries that oppose his Greenland push go against the framework of the U.S.-E.U. trade deal, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/european-lawmakers-suspend-us-trade-deal-amid-greenland-tariff-tensions.html">reported</a>. Lange pointed to Trump&#8217;s remarks at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, when the president said that he would continue to push for control of Greenland and called for &#8220;immediate negotiations.&#8221;
“I guess he didn’t revise his position,&#8221; Lange said. &#8220;He wants to have Greenland as part of the United States as quick as possible.”
Lange, the chair of Parliament’s International Trade Committee, added in a statement that the European Union will pause its work on the trade deal &#8220;until the US decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation,&#8221; Fox Business <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/european-parliament-halts-work-us-trade-deal-response-trump-greenland-push">reported</a>. While the United States and the European Union agreed to the trade deal&#8217;s framework last year, it can&#8217;t go into effect until the European Parliament gives final approval.
During his speech, Trump said he would not use military force to take over Greenland, which Lange called a positive development, but the European Parliament member added that until Trump takes the additional tariff threat off the table, “There will be no possibility of compromise.” Lange called Trump&#8217;s tariff threats “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty of the European Union.”
Trump imposed tariffs on European countries shortly after being sworn in last year as part of his massive &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff agenda, and the European Union responded with tariffs on U.S. goods. The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/08/joint-statement-on-a-united-states-european-union-framework-on-an-agreement-on-reciprocal-fair-and-balanced-trade/">announced</a> a trade agreement with the European Union last August, saying that the bloc &#8220;intends to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of U.S. seafood and agricultural goods.&#8221; As part of the deal&#8217;s framework, the Trump administration agreed to drop the tariff rate on the European Union to 15%.
European countries have roundly criticized Trump over his plan to take over Greenland, but the president continues to argue that the United States needs the territory for national security. Greenland controls its own internal affairs, but Denmark oversees the territory and guarantees its security.
While speaking in front of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Trump said the United States needs Greenland to stop the &#8220;bad guys.&#8221; Trump has repeatedly claimed that China and Russia have their eyes set on conquering Greenland, which would threaten U.S. and global security.
&#8220;All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we&#8217;ve already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others in World War II,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We gave it back to them.&#8221;
&#8220;So we want a piece of ice for world protection,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;And they won’t give it. &#8230; They have a choice: you can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no. And, we will remember.&#8221;

USA International Relations Photo Illustrations

European Union Suspends Trade Deal With U.S. Over Trump’s Greenland Push

European Union

President Donald Trump on Saturday raised the pressure in his pursuit of purchasing Greenland, vowing 10% tariffs on eight European nations until Denmark allows a sale, which Trump said is vital for the sake of &#8220;world peace.&#8221;
In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump said, starting February 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland will be charged a 10% tariff &#8220;on any and all goods sent to the United States of America.&#8221;
The tariff, he said, will spike to 25% by June 1, and will remain in place until &#8220;a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.&#8221;
Trump argued that the United States has been subsidizing Denmark, European Union nations, and others, by bypassing tariffs for years. &#8220;Now, after Centuries,&#8221; Trump wrote, &#8220;it is time for Denmark to give back — World Peace is at stake!&#8221;
The president underscored Chinese and Russian interest in Greenland and said &#8220;there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.&#8221;
&#8220;They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that! Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.&#8221;
Last week, Trump similarly warned that Greenland would fall under the control of Russia or China if the U.S. doesn&#8217;t step in. “If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I am not going to let that happen,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One. “I’d love to make a deal with them. It’s easier. But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
In his Saturday Truth Social post, Trump added, &#8220;The United States has been trying to do this transaction for over 150 years. Many Presidents have tried, and for good reason, but Denmark has always refused. &#8230; The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these Countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.&#8221;

President Trump Departs White House For Florida

Trump Raises Pressure For Greenland Purchase, Hits 8 Nations With Tariffs

Denmark

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries against doing any business with Iran, promising that any such countries will pay a tariff on their business with the United States.
&#8220;Effective immediately,&#8221; the president <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115884319075881590">shared</a> on Truth Social, &#8220;any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.&#8221;
&#8220;This Order is final and conclusive,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s post comes as demonstrations throughout Iran challenging the cleric-controlled system rock the Iranian regime. Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irans-theocracy-rocked-by-most-serious-uprising-in-decades">told Morning Wire this week</a> that the demonstrations are the most consequential challenge to the Iranian government’s legitimacy since the birth of the Islamic theocracy in 1979.
“Iranians pushed past reform, Iranians pushed past the ballot box and found the street to be the best way to contest the state and make their case,&#8221; Taleblu explained, &#8220;not just to their fellow compatriots and citizens, but to the world that they seek wholesale political change – not evolution, not musical chairs at the top, not another fig leaf, not putting lipstick on a pig.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1026817" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-countries-doing-business-with-iran-with-25-tariffs/pro-government-rally-held-in-iran-as-regime-rejects-threats-of-western-intervention" rel="attachment wp-att-1026817"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1026817" class="wp-image-1026817 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/GettyImages-2255940618-768x576.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255940618-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255940618-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-2255940618.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></a>TEHRAN, IRAN &#8211; JANUARY 12: People join a pro-government rally on January 12, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)</div>
Iranian authorities have restricted citizen access to the internet for five days now as the protesters chant “Death to Khamenei,&#8221; referencing Iran&#8217;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian security forces are responding to the unrest with violence: U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that 503 protesters in Iran have died.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the president is ready to use military force against Iran if necessary. In June, the United States struck and obliterated Iran&#8217;s nuclear sites under Operation Midnight Hammer, destroying the country&#8217;s nuclear program for the time being.
<div class="style__LiveMessageTextWithLink-MuGhR cgWSbd live-message--message">
&#8220;I think one thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options on the table, and air strikes would be one of the many, many options that are on the table,&#8221; Leavitt shared during a gaggle with reporters outside the White House.
&#8220;Diplomacy is always the first option&#8221; for the president, she noted.
&#8220;He told all of you last night that what you&#8217;re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately,&#8221; Leavitt said. &#8220;The president has shown that he is unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.&#8221;
And the president himself said on Sunday that Iranian leaders called him to negotiate, saying: &#8220;I think they are tired of being beat up by the United States.&#8221;
The president shared that a meeting is being set up, but noted that he may &#8220;have to act&#8221; before that meeting occurs &#8220;because of what&#8217;s happening.&#8221;
He also told reporters that he and his military are &#8220;very seriously&#8221; considering their options given the violence in Iran: “There seems to be some people killed that aren&#8217;t supposed to be killed. These are violent — if you call them leaders, I don’t know if they are leaders — they rule through violence.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ll make a determination,&#8221; the president said.
</div>

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-RETURN

Trump Threatens Countries Doing Business With Iran With 25% Tariffs

Iran

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump made his argument for keeping his far-reaching &#8220;reciprocal tariffs&#8221; on Monday and said that the United States would be &#8220;screwed&#8221; if the Supreme Court rules against his unprecedented trade policy.
The Supreme Court could release its highly anticipated decision on the tariff case as soon as Wednesday, but it remains unknown when exactly the court will rule on the Trump administration&#8217;s emergency appeal. Trump said that a ruling against his administration would force the United States to pay back &#8220;hundreds of billions of dollars.&#8221;
&#8220;The actual numbers that we would have to pay back if, for any reason, the Supreme Court were to rule against the United States of America on Tariffs, would be many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and that doesn’t include the amount of &#8216;payback&#8217; that Countries and Companies would require for the Investments they are making on building Plants, Factories, and Equipment, for the purpose of being able to avoid the payment of Tariffs,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115883475463948362">wrote</a> on Truth Social.
The United States collected around $200 billion in tariff revenue last year, largely thanks to Trump&#8217;s tariffs, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trump has used his so-called reciprocal tariffs to pressure companies to manufacture products in the United States to avoid his hefty import taxes. He argued that, taking foreign investments into account, the repercussions of a ruling against his tariffs could result in trillions of dollars no longer going into the U.S. economy.
&#8220;It would be a complete mess, and almost impossible for our Country to pay. Anybody who says that it can be quickly and easily done would be making a false, inaccurate, or totally misunderstood answer to this very large and complex question,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;It may not be possible but, if it were, it would be Dollars that would be so large that it would take many years to figure out what number we are talking about and even, who, when, and where, to pay. Remember, when America shines brightly, the World shines brightly. In other words, if the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!&#8221;
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, said that the United States wouldn&#8217;t have a problem paying tariff refunds, but he added that it would be &#8220;a corporate boondoggle.&#8221;
“Costco, who’s suing the U.S. government, are they going to give the money back to their clients?” Bessent asked.
During <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-face-skepticism-among-some-supreme-court-justices">oral arguments</a> in November, some of the conservative justices who Trump will need to side with him appeared skeptical of the president&#8217;s authority to impose his global tariffs. The case centers on questions around the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and whether Trump’s tariffs should be considered a tax.
Trump’s Solicitor General, John Sauer, argued before the court that national emergencies related to the fentanyl crisis and America’s declining industrial base justify Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The court&#8217;s liberal justices appeared to side with the plaintiffs in the case, which are a group of American businesses. The businesses argue that tariffs act as taxes on the American people, and only Congress has the authority to levy taxes.
Conservative Justices John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett also expressed skepticism about some of the Trump administration&#8217;s arguments.

Trump: ‘We’re Screwed’ If SCOTUS Rules Against Wide-Ranging Tariffs

Trump: 'We're Screwed' If SCOTUS Rules Against Wide-Ranging Tariffs

Economy

Supreme Court

trade

The United States is facing down an existential threat right now.
That existential threat comes from a lack of willpower. It comes from a doubt about what America is. But in terms of foreign policy, that existential threat comes from a team-up that has been growing.
That team-up is between China — which is really the sponsor state of the anti-American bloc — and its friends like Russia and Iran.
The existential threat doesn&#8217;t mean that China is going to attack the United States.
It does mean that as the United States recedes from the world, Russia will expand its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. China will expand its sphere of influence, not just in the Far East, but also in Africa, across the rest of Asia into South America. The United States is going to be in the unenviable position of having to withdraw from the world, and we will no longer be able to guarantee freedom of the seas.
A United States with no economic allies, a United States that is a secondary partner for all the rest of these countries while China is a primary partner, is a United States that has an economy that is shrinking, a United States that is forced within its own borders.
That is a problem.
There is this bizarre notion that has arisen on the Right that if the United States were to be essentially an autarky and withdraw from the rest of the world, suddenly things would get better. The belief that the amount that we expend in foreign aid, for example, or military expenditure, is a complete waste of money, and if we just spent that money at home, then magically everything would get better.
The problem, of course, is that the world is interconnected. The reason that you can obtain better, cheaper products that make your life easier every single day is because the interconnection of world trade makes that possible. And that, of course, is only possible because of the power of the United States economy and the power of the United States military.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2330-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957 aligncenter" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Why do I bring that up? Because China seems to be posing a broader and broader threat, and yet there is a bizarre unwillingness on the Left to acknowledge the threat that is China.
And on the Right, there seems to be an unwillingness to deal with the actual realities of what it would mean to face down China in a responsible and coherent fashion.
In the West, there is the bizarre perception that what we ought to do is radically increase tariffs, not just on China — which would be retaliatory and worthwhile — but on everywhere else. 
That is a gigantic mistake. And it leads to questions about the overall policy of the United States vis-à-vis China.
What exactly are we trying to do vis-à-vis China? 
I&#8217;ve made the case that if you wish to face down China, you have to do a few things. One is that you need closer trade and security relationships, not more attenuated relationships, with other countries surrounding China, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and India.
Better relations with those countries will help box in and essentially isolate China. If China wants to cheat, if they don&#8217;t want to play by the rules, if China wishes to beggar its neighbor, let them pursue an autarkic economic policy.
Autarky tends to make the country pursuing it poorer over time. Initially, it looks like an explosion of economic activity, but over time, as countries start pouring resources into less efficient modes of manufacturing in order to do it at home, rather than to import those products from abroad, they tend to empty themselves out.
This is the common pattern in economics. Every mercantilist or fascist economic system that has worked like this shows very good early growth numbers. And then that growth curve eventually peters out, and the country ends up with economic stagnation.
This happened in Japan. It happened in South Korea. If you go back prior to World War II, this happened in Germany. One of the reasons that Germany, under the Nazis, had to become an expansionist power is because Germany tried to pursue economic autarky in the 1930s, and they saw, for a brief moment in time, a gigantic manufacturing boom, people getting off unemployment lines, moving out of the Weimar Republic era.
But as it turns out, they were doing that based on state expenditures that made them less economically viable over the long term. And so then they had to turn to actual physical territorial expansionism.
Autarky very often turns into a necessity for expanding your access to resources, which leads to invasions of other countries. It is not a coincidence that countries that tend to embrace a strong mercantilist policy, an economic policy that focuses on “Let&#8217;s build everything right here at home,” find that when they can’t, they have to expand their own territorial borders or the places under their immediate dominion.
Free trade generally means that you don&#8217;t have to invade other places because you can trade with those other places.
So, when you look at China, how would you stop China? We need to build up better security and economic relationships in the Far East, and also build up better security and economic relationships with Europe.
That means that we can use tariffs as a way to force the Europeans to get rid of their non-tariff barriers. One of the ways I would be forcing the Europeans to pay their fair share is by using things like tariffs, in order to push the Europeans to pay their fair share. When it comes to, for example, the price of pharmaceuticals, Europe pays far less than what the actual market rate should be for pharmaceuticals, and then the United States ends up paying for that via our taxpayers and via our consumers.
That’s just the way that it works. We should stop that.
There are things that we can do to fight the non-tariff barriers and also the unfairness of our systems with Europe. But in the end, we should be pursuing freer trade and better relationships. 
That’s because if you&#8217;re going to box in China, you need to offer both the carrot and the stick to China, but just carrots to our friends. 
When it comes to offering carrots for our friends, we can offer a little bit of the stick in order to achieve the carrot. That is why I&#8217;m not against using tariffs as a way to pressure other countries to lower their tariffs. This is a case that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has made.
You need to box China in. You need to treat them like the adversary they are.
You need to build out other lines of supply. You need supply chains that are diversified, so we&#8217;re not as reliant on China.
You need to cut off China&#8217;s allies at the knees. If we believe, as we should, that Russia is a geopolitical adversary of the United States, then obviously we should be pursuing an attempt to get Russia to stop invading Eastern Europe.
And that means supporting allies in the region to the extent necessary to stop the Russians, because it&#8217;s not as though Russia and China aren&#8217;t talking to each other. They&#8217;re talking very extensively to each other.
If we are attempting to form a better relationship with India, then we should be attempting to form a better relationship with them. We should be trying to make trade relations with India so beneficial to India that they don&#8217;t want to trade with the Chinese. There are natural differences in opinion between China and India, which have nearly come to blows several times over the course of the last several decades.
India and China are not working hand in glove. They have actual territorial conflicts. We could be attempting to pry India out of China&#8217;s sphere of influence. 
These are all things that a responsible foreign policy would do.
And then we certainly would not be shipping many of the most important components in the battle for the future to China.
China is already stealing our intellectual property. China is already cheating when it comes to trade relationships. China is already badgering its neighbors. Why should we be sending some of our most sophisticated microchips produced in the United States? Why should we be allowing those to flow into China? Even if we&#8217;re going to argue that it&#8217;s only a marginal increase in China&#8217;s capacity, why would we allow that increase in China&#8217;s capacity?
China is our geopolitical enemy. They are our opponent. Trying to pretend otherwise is foolish because if you allow China to continue pursuing its normal policies, China will blow itself out.
China has a serious demographic problem. It does not have enough people. China is in steep demographic decline. Even though they have a billion people, they do not have enough human beings to be able to generate the economic growth necessary to pay for their gigantic redistributionist schemes and mercantilist ideas.
They have an enormous debt problem. They&#8217;ve been burying that debt problem in local and regional debt issues, and then building gigantic empty cities rooted in debt that they&#8217;re taking out from their own citizens and against their own citizens.
We tend to look at the fact that China builds some nice things and say, “Wow, they must be doing it right.”
But the fact is that mercantilism looks systematic when you look at the areas where it succeeds, but looks like a trash heap when you look at the areas where it doesn&#8217;t succeed. The areas where you don&#8217;t succeed in a centralized economy are the areas that tend to be ignored, and there are a lot of them.
Capitalism looks really messy, but it has a much higher hit rate because capital follows the best ideas. You don&#8217;t just keep investing in bad ideas the way you do with a centralized economic system, like China.
There are ways to box in China.
The question is whether the United States will actually do it.

China trade cargo container hanging against clouds background

What Do We Do About China?

Ben Shapiro

China

Foreign Policy

India

Opinion

Russia

President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion bailout for American farmers on Monday afternoon as many farmers have taken a blow due to the president’s tariffs.
Most of the $12 billion aid package will go toward one-time payments for farmers, especially soybean farmers, whose industry has taken a massive hit from Trump’s steep tariffs on China, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-08/trump-set-to-unveil-12-billion-aid-for-farmers-hit-by-trade-war">reported</a>. Up to $11 billion will be provided to farmers under the Department of Agriculture’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance program. Trump was joined by soybean, corn, cotton, sorghum, rice, cattle, wheat, and potato farmers at the White House for the announcement.
Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1998115240983019905">said</a> that the $12 billion for American farmers will come from the &#8220;hundreds of billions of dollars&#8221; the United States has collected in tariff revenue. The United States has brought in around $260 billion in tariff revenue this year alone.
Trump blasted former President Joe Biden&#8217;s economic policies that he said hurt American farmers, adding that under the Trump administration, farmers would be &#8220;put first.&#8221;
&#8220;Farm bankruptcies under Joe Biden went up 55%. That&#8217;s not good,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;But now we&#8217;re once again in a position where a president is able to put farmers first. Unfortunately, I&#8217;m the only president that does that.&#8221;
Trump’s financial aid will help a farming industry that relies heavily on exports to foreign nations. Around 25% of soybeans grown in the United States are exported to China, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-to-unveil-12-billion-bailout-for-farmers-064eb1de?mod=hp_lead_pos4">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
After Trump rolled out his tariffs on China earlier this year, the communist country completely cut off its imports of American soybeans until it reached a deal with the Trump administration in late October. Soybean, wheat, and corn farmers have already lost an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/us/politics/farmers-aid-trade-war.html#:~:text=Trump%20cares%20about%20farmers%20and,that%20took%20years%20to%20win.">estimated</a> $13 billion due to the president’s trade war, according to a farm group study.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/10/15/trump-economy-farmers-bailout">hinted</a> at the administration’s farm bailout in early October, calling the plan “clever and generous.” The farm aid rollout was delayed due to the record-long government shutdown that lasted from October 1 to November 12.
After the United States and China struck a deal to lower tariffs, China pledged to purchase 12 million tons of American soybeans by the end of the year. Since the end of October, China has purchased just over two million tons, according to Bloomberg. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday that China is so far complying with its agreement.
“With China, it’s always we verify, and we monitor, and we watch the commitments. The commitments are quite specific,” Greer said during an appearance on “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News. “So all of these things that we’ve agreed to with the Chinese recently are very concrete, we can monitor them with some ease, and so far, we’re seeing that they’re in compliance.”
Farmers have argued that they need government help to pay off debt and plan for next year’s crops. They make up a large part of Trump’s base and have continued to back the president. In the 2024 election, Trump’s support among farming communities <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/11/13/trump-election-farming-counties-trade-war/">increased</a> nationwide compared to 2020 and 2016. Trump won 78% of the vote from farming counties in 2024, two points better than he fared in 2020 and five points better than in 2016.
During his first term, the president allocated $28 billion to farmers affected by his administration’s tariffs on China.

Trump Farm Bailout

Trump Provides Billions In Relief To Farmers Impacted By Tariffs

Agriculture

Executive

Farmers

Politics

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that the Trump administration’s economic strategy is centered on fixing “the three I&#8217;s: immigration, interest rates, and inflation,&#8221; adding that Americans are traumatized by Biden-era inflation.
“One thing we’re not going to do is what the Biden administration did — tell the American people they don’t know how they feel,” Bessent said. “They are traumatized by Biden-era inflation. We’ve slowed it, and we’re working very hard to bring it down.”
Bessent argued that immigration has been a major driver of high housing costs and wage stagnation. With the border closed and deportations underway, he expects home prices to fall and wages to rise. He pointed to October’s strong housing data as evidence, with home sales reaching their highest level in three years.
“The prices get better,” he said. “Energy prices, gasoline are down, we believe health care is going to come down. This will be the lowest cost for a Thanksgiving dinner in four years. Turkey prices are down 16%.”
While inflation ticked up to 3% from its 2.3% low earlier this year, Bessent insisted it remains under control. He noted that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has lowered interest rates by 0.50% this year and have another rate cut on the table for December.
Bessent credited the president’s peace agreements, tax reforms, and new trade deals as key drivers of future affordability. His remarks come days after Vice President JD Vance called on Americans to have “a little bit of patience” with the Trump administration’s economic strategy.
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Recent criticism has focused on rising prices for certain food products. NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Scott Bessent if the administration’s rollback on tariffs proves Trump’s trade policies are raising consumer costs.
Bessent dismissed the argument, saying inflation “is a composite number” with many moving parts, meaning overall inflation can remain stable even as some products fluctuate. He predicted broader price declines once United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer finalizes new agreements in Latin America.
He also pointed to last week’s rollback on tariffs for more than 200 food products as proof that the White House is “pushing down the prices they can control,” rejecting claims that tariffs hurt consumers.
“Some prices will come down in weeks, some in months,” he said.
With major trade deals nearing completion, foreign peace negotiations wrapping up, and the One Big, Beautiful Bill tax reforms in place, Bessent said he is “optimistic for 2026.”

President Trump Signs Executive Order In The Oval Office

Bessent: Trump Admin Targeting ‘Three I’s’ To Restore Affordability

Scott Bessent

Thanksgiving

President Donald Trump’s sanctions on Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft are biting into Moscow’s ability to fund its war effort, according to a Treasury Department memo.
The Initial Market Reaction report by the Office of Foreign Assets Control found that the sanctions that Trump placed on Russian energy last month are restricting the cash Moscow can dedicate to its war efforts.
“President Trump has targeted Russia’s two largest oil companies in one of the most impactful Treasury actions to date. Russian oil is now selling at multi-year lows, starving Putin’s war machine. President Trump is the peace-and-prosperity President, and Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to end the senseless killing,” a Treasury spokesperson told The Daily Wire.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control&#8217;s initial assessment of the tariffs found that they are having their intended effect by reducing oil revenues to Moscow by “lowering the price of Russian oil and therefore the country’s ability to fund its war effort against Ukraine,” according to a summary of the office’s assessment.
“While there are multiple prices of Russian oil depending on grade and location, various grades are trading well below all other international prices. Moreover, several key Russian grades are selling at multi-year lows, widening their spreads to global benchmarks. This is testament to the fact that demand for Russian oil is plunging, driven by the efficacy of U.S. sanctions,” the summary found.
The Treasury assessment also noted that some of Russia’s biggest customers, namely India and China, have cut back their purchases of Russian energy in the wake of the tariffs
“Nearly a dozen major Indian and Chinese purchasers of Russian oil have announced intentions to pause their purchases of Russian December deliveries,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control found.
The Treasury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ramps-up-pressure-on-putin-hits-russian-oil-companies-with-sanctions">leveled</a> the tariffs on the Russian oil giants on October 22.
“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the time. “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

Vladimir Putin

Trump Sanctions On Russian Oil Are ‘Starving Putin’s War Machine’

Ukraine-Russia War

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda was smiling for photos and giving two thumbs up as he donned a red “Make America Great Again” hat and a Trump-Vance shirt during an American-themed NASCAR event in Japan over the weekend.
“I’m not here to argue whether tariffs are good or bad. Every national leader wants to protect their own industry,” Toyoda <a href="https://www.autonews.com/toyota/an-toyota-akio-toyoda-maga-nascar-trump-japan-tariff-1116/">said</a> ahead of the exhibition. “We are exploring ways to make tariffs a winner for everyone. The people we want most to be winners are our customers.”
Japan now has a roughly 15% baseline tariff on auto imports, down from 27.5% following September trade negotiations.
The America-themed celebration at Fuji Speedway featured top NASCAR drivers, fans waving American flags, and an appearance from U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass. The ambassador posted photos of himself at the event alongside the caption, “Start your engines! &#8230; Looking forward to celebrating the culture of motorsports again next year, as part of our [America250] festivities in Japan.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda showed up to a NASCAR event on Sunday repping MAGA gear.
BASED 🔥🔥🔥🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/NnkbuJaNfk">pic.twitter.com/NnkbuJaNfk</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1990855538045792277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The event came days before the carmaker announced on Tuesday a $912 million investment in its U.S. manufacturing operations, aimed at expanding hybrid production in Southern states.
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Per Motor Intelligence <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/18/toyota-hybrid-plants.html">data</a>, Toyota currently has more than 51% market share of hybrid vehicles through the third quarter of this year.
“Customers are embracing Toyota’s hybrid vehicles, and our U.S. manufacturing teams are gearing up to meet that growing demand,” Kevin Voelkel, Toyota Motor North America senior vice president of manufacturing operations, <a href="https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-boosts-hybrid-production-with-912-million-investment-creating-252-new-u-s-manufacturing-jobs/">said</a>. “Toyota’s philosophy is to build where we sell, and by adding more American jobs and investing across our U.S. footprint, we continue to stay true to that philosophy.”
Toyota announced last week it will invest as much as $10 billion into the United States over the next five years, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-11-14/toyota-confirms-up-to-10-billion-investment-in-u-s">confirming</a> what President Donald Trump had said in October after meeting with the company’s CEO.

Akio Toyoda

Toyota CEO Goes Full MAGA At NASCAR Event Then Drops $912M On U.S. Jobs

Toyota CEO Rocks MAGA Hat At NASCAR Event, Then Announces Nearly $1B Boost To U.S. Manufacturing

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