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Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States comprised of the 198,000 bitcoins the American government already holds through law enforcement confiscations, which are worth an estimated $17bn.
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks said the move would “not cost taxpayers a dime” but the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to slump on Thursday night, with the value of rival coins not included in the scheme also falling.
Also on Thursday, the president postponed planned 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada for one month after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sheinbaum described her call with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas the Trudeau exchange was reportedly more “colorful”, with the Canadian saying afterwards he expects his country to remain locked in a trade war with the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Trump also abruptly called a cabinet meeting yesterday to clarify the role of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after they faced significant pushback from the courts over their authority to order the mass firings of federal workers.
Trump considering changing NATO policy to favor countries spending more on defense
The president is reportedly considering changing the terms of U.S. engagement with NATO to favor members who spend a set percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
Officials told NBC News that under the revised policy, the U.S. might not come to the aid of a NATO member that has been attacked if they don’t spend a certain amount of their GDP on defense.
The change would be a departure from NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on one country is an attack on all and has only ever been actioned once, in support of America after 9/11.
Here’s the president apparently forgetting his history on that point yesterday:
Gustaf Kilander has more.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 10:50
Watch: Trump gives cryptic answer on Ukraine-Russia peace deal
The president said a number of other fruity things during yesterday’s press sit down, from “globalists” being responsible for the adverse market reaction to his tariff aggressions, America not needing Canadian lumber anyway (so there) and raving about astronaut Suni Williams, trapped in space for nine months, having wonderful thick hair.
Here are his latest remarks on Zelensky and the prospect of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump gives cryptic answer when asked about Ukraine Russia peace deal
Donald Trump appeared to give somewhat of a cryptic answer when he was pressed on the possibility of a Russia and Ukraine peace deal. The US president was asked for an update in relation to peace talks between the two countries as he signed several executive orders at the White House on Thursday (6 September). A journalist asked the president: “When Zelensky inevitably comes back to the White House what do you expect from him?” Trump replied: “I think Ukraine wants to make a deal because I don’t think they don’t have a choice. “I also think Russia wants to make a deal because in a certain different way, a way only I know, they have no choice either.”
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 10:30
Trump says MSNBC anchors Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow ‘should be forced to resign’
Also in the Oval yesterday, the president lashed out at the liberal pundits after Wallace criticized his decision to make 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel an honorary Secret Service agent during his address to Congress on Tuesday night.
Wallace contrasted the gesture with Trump pardoning Capitol rioters and said she hoped Daniels “never has to defend the United States Capitol against Donald Trump’s supporters.”
“Worse than CNN is ‘MS-DNC,’ which is the worst,” the president ranted in response.
“And the good news is very few people watch them anymore. They have lost such credibility; and, frankly, what Nicole Wallace said – I’ve never been a fan of hers, and she’s not very talented — but I’ll tell you, what she said the other day about that young man is disgraceful. She should be forced to resign.
“And Rachel Maddow should be forced to resign. Nobody watches her anyway. I don’t know if – it’s not possible they pay her as much money as I hear – but certainly she’s lost all credibility. Both of them. But what they said the other day, they should be forced to resign, about that young person who is suffering.”
Here’s Josh Marcus on Trump contradicting himself by claiming never to watch liberal channels like MSNBC and CNN.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 10:10
Trump warns his cabinet that Elon Musk can’t actually fire workers
The president abruptly called a cabinet meeting yesterday to clarify the role of Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after they faced significant pushback from the courts over their authority to order the mass firings of federal workers.
Trump told his secretaries that the billionaire and his DOGE staffers cannot fire government employees without their express permission, hoping to draw a definite line under weeks of uncertainty and chaos.
Here’s how he framed that on Truth Social and in the Oval Office in latest question and answer session with reporters:
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 09:50
Trump backs down and suspends 25 percent tariff hike on Mexican and Canadian goods for one month
The president postponed planned 25 percent tariffs on most goods from Mexico and Canada for one month yesterday after speaking to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Sheinbaum described her call with Trump as “excellent and respectful,” whereas the Trudeau exchange was reportedly more “colorful”, with the Canadian saying afterwards he expects his country to remain locked in a trade war with the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Trump said he was granting the exemption on any goods imported into the U.S. that are compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement that he negotiated during his first term but expected to reintroduce the levy hike on April 2.
Here’s Andrew Feinberg with the full story.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 09:30
Trump establishes federal cryptocurrency reserve as markets for digital currency slump
Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a strategic cryptocurrency reserve for the United States comprised of the 198,000 bitcoins the American government already holds through law enforcement confiscations, which are worth an estimated $17bn.
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks said the move would “not cost taxpayers a dime”.
“The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value,” Sacks wrote on X
“The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.’”
But the announcement caused the price of bitcoin to slump on Thursday night, with the value of rival coins not included in the scheme also falling.
Here’s more.
Joe Sommerlad7 March 2025 09:10
ANALYSIS: House Democrats resume infighting after Trump speech humiliation
John Bowden writes:
One full day of embarrassment over the party’s response to Donald Trump’s speech to Congress was insufficient for Democrats, who delivered a second helping on Thursday.
Green, who was escorted out of Trump’s speech Tuesday evening by the sergeant-at-arms, is not exactly worse off. He’ll likely receive a fundraising boost resulting from the rebuke.
“I would do it again,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Whether the same can be said for his 10 colleagues who flirted with what Jeffries called a “political and partisan game” is less obvious, as is the actual strategy that Democratic leadership is pursuing.
Continue reading…
Oliver O’Connell7 March 2025 07:10
Trump preparing executive order to dismantle Education Department
After multiple reports that Trump could sign the order as soon as Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied those claims, calling it “fake news.” There was concern among officials about the possible criticism the administration may face because of the order — including questions over how it would affect the school lunch program and other critical initiatives — and some felt there wasn’t sufficient messaging in place, according to ABC News.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Oliver O’Connell7 March 2025 05:40
Ukraine: Trump allies ‘met with Zelensky’s political rivals’
Members of Donald Trump’s team reportedly held secret discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky’s top political opponents days after his fiery White House clash with the Ukrainian president.
At least four senior allies of the US president spoke with Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and high-ranking party members of Mr Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Porshenko, according to Politico, citing three Ukrainian parliamentarians and a US Republican foreign policy expert.
Arpan Rai has the story.
Oliver O’Connell7 March 2025 04:40
Pentagon press secretary has a ‘long history’ of bigoted social media posts
A Pentagon press secretary with a “long history” of bigoted and antisemitic social media posts faces calls to resign.
Jewish organizations have blasted the appointment of Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, who compared the murders of Israeli infants during the October 7 Hamas attacks to abortion. She has also peddled the antisemitic conspiracy theory about Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman who was wrongly convicted and hanged for the murder of a 13-year-old Georgia girl in 1951.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Oliver O’Connell7 March 2025 03:40