From: Chris Christie To: Nervous Canadians Date: November 6, 2024 Re: Canada Should Embrace the Opportunities of a Second Trump Presidency
A second Donald Trump presidency, if approached strategically, offers Canada more opportunities than risks.
Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric is often erratic, of that there is no doubt. And I, as you might have heard, am not a Donald Trump advocate.
But what happens in governance under Trump is a far cry from his provocative online posts or bombastic speeches, as I argued in the latest C.D. Howe Institute Regent Debate. His track record speaks for itself, and whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, Canada has already benefitted from Trump-era policies.
Let’s take the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement – CUSMA in the Canadian rendering – as a prime example. Trump’s renegotiation of NAFTA wasn’t just about putting “America first.” It was about reshaping trade relationships in North America to benefit all three countries. The agreement secured economic ties between the US, Canada, and Mexico in a way that ensures long-term growth for all parties involved.
Trump views that agreement as one of his crowning achievements, and rest assured, it’s not going anywhere. It is a durable platform for growth in North American trade.
Looking forward, the question isn’t whether Trump is unpredictable. It’s whether Canada can recognize and leverage the opportunities his policies present.
With Trump re-elected, his administration will continue to focus on policies that drive economic growth – lower taxes, reduced regulations, and energy independence. A booming US economy means a stronger Canada, as our two economies are deeply intertwined. When one prospers, the other stands to benefit through increased trade and investment.
Trump’s approach to trade – especially tariffs – has often been misunderstood. Yes, his speech-making is aggressive. But we need to separate rhetoric from reality. Trump’s actual policies were more measured than many anticipated. And they will be again.
The real adversary for Donald Trump is China, not Canada. If Trump tightens the screws on China’s unfair trade practices, it could create space for Canadian companies to flourish on a more level playing field, particularly in sectors like technology and intellectual property, where China has been a major violator.
Trump’s economic philosophy – focused on cutting taxes and regulations to unleash private-sector growth – should also serve as a wake-up call for Canada. Under Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada has taken a ruinous policy road, with higher taxes and more government intervention in business.
But what if Canada aligned itself more closely with the pro-growth policies Trump advocates?
Imagine the potential for Canadian businesses if they operated in an environment with fewer barriers to growth. A thriving private sector in Canada would strengthen the economy and create more opportunities for collaboration and trade with the US.
I won’t pretend that a second term comes without challenges. But instead of focusing on the personality occupying the Oval Office, Canada should focus on how to navigate the opportunities presented by our shared future as neighbours and trade partners.
It’s time to stop seeing Trump as an unpredictable threat and start recognizing the potential opportunities his policies can bring. Canada stands to benefit if it plays its cards right. For the Silo, Chris Christie.
Chris Christie was the 55th Governor of New Jersey and a participant in the C.D. Howe Institute’s recent Regent Debate. Send comments to Chris via this link.
Today, the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump: a breakdown of the assassination attempt, and initial theories about the gunman. Via our friends at the Associated Press & The Epoch Times.
Highlights
A Breakdown of the Assassination Attempt Against Trump
It started at 6:02 p.m. with former President Donald Trump taking the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. Ten minutes later Mr. Trump was lying bleeding on the stage and shielded by Secret Service agents.
Why It Matters: An attempted political assassination of a former and potential U.S. president impacts the world.
FBI Found ‘Suspicious Device’ in Shooter’s Car, Investigating Attack as Domestic Terrorism
The FBI has provided background on its investigation of the would-be killer of former President Trump and what else he may have been trying to do. Officials said they don’t have a motive yet, but did find a suspicious device in the dead gunman’s car and continue to work with his family as the investigation continues.
Why It Matters: Many questions need to be answered, including what the shooter’s motive was, and how he was able to nearly kill a former president.
FBI Investigating Attack as Act of Domestic Terrorism
The FBI said a ’suspicious device,’ which was later defused, was found in the assailant’s car.
State and local police block off roads surrounding the home of the suspected shooter of former President Donald Trump, as the FBI carries out an investigation, in Bethel Park, Pa., on July 14, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images) Joseph Lord
FBI officials say they believe the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump acted alone.
The agency is investigating the attack as both an attempted assassination and an act of domestic terrorism, officials told reporters in a call with news media on July 14.
The new details emerged less than 24 hours after the United States saw its first major assassination attempt of a president or presidential candidate since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Authorities have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. At a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, the assailant fired several shots from an elevated position near the venue. Witnesses saw a man with a rifle on the rooftop of a nearby building.
Former President Trump’s right ear was pierced by one of the bullets before he was rushed to his car by Secret Service agents. However, one of the attendees at the rally, 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed. Two other rally attendees—identified by Pennsylvania State Police as David Dutch and James Copenhaver—were injured.
Both of the injured attendees are in stable condition, according to Pennsylvania State Police, which did not provide further details on their injuries. A GoFundMe effort established by the Trump campaign for the victims and their families had raised more than $3 million usd/ $4,090,000 cad as of the evening of July 14.
FBI Investigation
The FBI has not yet identified a motive. The assailant’s family is cooperating in the investigation, officials said.
Biden Says He’s Directed an Independent Review of Security at Trump Rally
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the assassination attempt on the former president “an attack on our democracy itself.”
“[The Justice Department has] no tolerance for such violence, and as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it,” Mr. Garland told reporters. “This must stop.”
The agency said a “suspicious device” was located during a sweep of Mr. Crooks’s car. It was later defused by bomb technicians.
FBI Director Christopher Wray vowed that his agency would “leave no stone unturned” in its investigation of the attack.
“An attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate can only be described as absolutely despicable and will not be tolerated in this country,” Mr. Wray told reporters.
Earlier on July 14, President Joe Biden said he asked that the investigation be “thorough and swift.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies about the bureau’s budgetary needs during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington on June 4, 2024. (Allison Bailey/Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to the attack, officials said, the perpetrator wasn’t on the FBI’s radar as a potential threat.
The FBI’s screening of the shooter’s social media presence has so far revealed no ideology or political beliefs that could have been his basis for the attack, officials said.
The FBI has received more than 2,000 tips so far, they said.
Officials believe that the rifle used in the attack was a semi-automatic rifle similar to an AR-15.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, told reporters that the weapon belonged to the shooter’s father, who purchased it legally. It’s still unclear how Mr. Crooks got his hands on the rifle, or if his father was aware that he had taken it.
“These are facts that we’ll flesh out as we conduct interviews,” Mr. Rojek said.
Speaking from the White House, President Biden said the assassination attempt was “contrary to everything we stand for as a nation.”
“It’s not who we are as a nation, it’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen,” he said.
The president said that he had a “short but good conversation” with former President Trump on the evening of July 13.
The former president, meanwhile, was due to arrive in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention on July 14, as originally planned. He said in a social media post that he had wanted to delay the travel in the immediate aftermath of the attack, but ultimately decided against it.
Secret Service officials confirmed on July 14 that no changes have been made to security at the convention, which starts on July 15, noting that the event has already been given the highest-grade security.
“Currently, there are no known articulated threats against the RNC or anyone visiting the RNC,” Michael Hensle, special agent in charge of the FBI for Wisconsin, said at a news conference.
The Secret Service has refuted claims that the 45th president’s security team requested additional security for the July 13 event and was denied.
“This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote in a July 14 post on X.
Former President Trump, in a statement on July 14, thanked his supporters, saying of the attack that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
The former president made a call for unity, saying, “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans.”
Former First Lady Melania Trump, in her own statement, called on Americans to “ascend above the hate” and “simple-minded ideas that incite violence.”
“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” Ms. Trump wrote.
She said that she was “grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives.”
Over on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are vowing their own investigations into the matter.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Congress will probe if there were security lapses at the rally.
“We need to know: How could an individual be at that elevation that was seen by apparently bystanders on the ground—how could that not be noticed by Secret Service?” Mr. Johnson told NBC’s “Today” on July 14.
In a July 14 letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) revealed several pieces of information, including the security plan that was in place on the day of the shooting. The Secret Service falls under the umbrella of DHS.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter.
“DHS responds to congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. For the Silo, Joseph Lord.
The League of Wrestling Mask Portraits is a growing body of work, undertaken in 2023, by realist painter, Richard Delaney. The work is a satirical, Pop Art-style, examination of the famous and controversial people of our time, such as Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Elon Musk, and Greta Thunberg. Delaney paints their approximately, life-size portraits, in an unconventional manner. Politicians and celebrities are depicted wearing personalized wrestling masks (as in professional wrestling, aka Lucha Libra, often referred to as Mexican wrestling masks). They wear their masks as if ready to battle/wrestle in the social and political ring.
Each mask is customized for the individual wearer with clues to their identity imbedded in the design.
The symbolic clues help the viewer identify the person when the facial features alone are not enough. For example, the design of Greta Thunberg’s mask reflects her climate activism. Yellow flame-patterned, patches, around her eyes, nose, and mouth, rise up to symbolically melt what appears to be an ice cap on the top of her head, causing melt-water to flow into the blue, ocean-like area of the mask, covering her face. The dominant colours, light blue and yellow, reference Thunberg’s country, Sweden, and its flag.
Delaney’s paintings in oil and acrylic are garish, bombastic, and humorous. They are fresh and contemporary while being reminiscent of 1960’s Pop Art. The visual aesthetic is like a combination of cartoon, realistic painting, and or photo collage. The mask component has a hint of vintage, comic book art, and pulp art illustration. In contrast, the facial features of the subjects are rendered in a somewhat, photorealistic style.
Conceptually, the League of Wrestling Mask Portraits, is very much Pop Art, and may have roots in the work of Warhol.
Both artists use mass media as a reservoir of ideas. They each present the concept of fame and celebrity in a uniquely identifiable style. There is no doubt that the ‘mask’ in Delaney’s work is simultaneously a visual brand, and a concept to be pondered.
Delaney has coined the terms “maskified” and “maskification,” to describe his portraits. The maskified portraits cannot be viewed without some consideration for the basic idea and purpose of a mask, that is, to conceal true identity, and or to project a persona. The maskification of Donald Trump, for example, in a red mask with gold trim and crown, draws a comparison to classic comic book superheroes or villains, depending on one’s political stance. The connection with Mascaras de Lucha Libra is of course, intentional, and it is this simple juxtaposition that makes the work visually and intellectually, compelling.
Delaney plans to produce a large collection of portraits by the end of 2024.
Ultimately, he imagines them displayed and for sale in a contemporary art gallery. For the time being, they are available to view on social media in the form of humorous reels and videos. There are many potential subjects that Delaney would like to paint, including, for example, Dylan Mulvaney, Joe Rogan, Kamala Harris, King Charles, Pierre Poilievre, and Jordan Peterson. Who do you think should be maskified? You can make suggestions by following Delaney on social media where he will be frequently unveiling new paintings for his League of Wrestling Mask Portraits.
Los Angeles, CA … Lawyers for Donald Trump on Monday asked the federal judge presiding over his election subversion case in Washington to recuse herself, saying her past public statements about the former president and his connection to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol call into question whether she can be fair.
“Regardless of anyone’s personal opinion on the matter, Donald Trump’s motion for recusal has merit under the express provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 455, which requires a judge to recuse himself or herself in any proceeding in which [her] impartiality might reasonably be questioned. It is irrelevant whether the judge is actually biased. The U.S. Supreme Court squarely addressed this issue in Liljeberg v. Health Services Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 860, which held that recusal is required even when a judge lacks actual knowledge of the facts indicating his interest or bias.
Judge Chutkan
Here, Judge Tanya Chutkan has made previous comments such as ‘Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not a President’ and, in a December 2021 sentencing hearing, she stated, ‘the issue of who has or has not been charged is not before me. I don’t have any influence on that. I have my opinions, but they are not relevant.’ She has therefore publicly acknowledged her bias, which, at the very least, creates an appearance of partiality. This is nevertheless an uphill battle, as the motion has been submitted to Judge Chutkan, who will rule on this motion.
Having litigated this issue extensively in Angelica Limcaco v. Steve Wynn, Case No. 19-15949 (9th Cir. 2020), Donald Trump has to navigate a difficult path because the optics are problematic for him. The Justice Department will likely argue that Judge Chutkan has no financial interest, or something to that effect. Of course, if the motion is denied, the decision could result in an interlocutory appeal that may delay the case,” explained Jordan Matthews, a litigation partner at Weinberg Gonser LLP.
Yes GTA VI is coming…finally and this trailer makes it official. If this leaves you asking questions and wanting more details ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6 release, you are not alone.
Officially verified facts and features are slim in some cases, but according to 50 Cent’s recent Instagram tease (sorry he deleted his post as this article was being written) and odds from leading sportsbook, Bovada,experts anticipate multiple celebrities to be featured in the blockbuster game. Grand Theft Auto 6 is the latest open-world modern era game set in Miami Vice City and will be returning back into the criminal empires of GTA.
A look at GTA V- will we see even more improved AI and graphics?
From 50 Cent himself (no stranger to having his persona digitized into the videogame world) to Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump and even Rihanna, gamers shouldn’t rule out any of the below cameo possibilities.
50 Cent in the legacy Xbox game Bulletproof
Check out the odds for each below and let us know who you think is a shoe in:
So how do you respond when someone brings you into the conversation? How do you answer when they ask you for your opinion or who you’re going to vote for?
You could always just doodle on a receipt like this one from J. Barker 🙂
Sharon Schweitzer, an international etiquette expert, author and founder of Protocol & Etiquette Worldwide, says you have options.
Has politics become a reality TV show?
You don’t want to respond
Keeping your opinion to yourself can be difficult; however, it is possible. Say something like, “In the midst of such a contentious political season, I feel it’s best to keep my opinion to myself. I do appreciate your interest and wish you the best in your political decisions.”
By acknowledging and thanking them for their genuine interest, you are able to get out of sticky political conversations but retain your well-mannered and ever sophisticated demeanor.
If they push again
If they keep pushing for a response, you can play the undecided card and change the subject.
“I’m still evaluating the candidates and the issues and haven’t made up my mind yet. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
To get them off the topic for good, ask them about something meaningful to them that they will want to talk about. “I hear your son got accepted to Ohio State. Congratulations!” “Great job on closing that account. How did you do it?” “Tell me about your trip to the mountains a few weeks ago. I hear it is beautiful this time of year.”
You want to respond
If you would like to express your beliefs, the best way to do so is to cite research and concrete reasons why your views align a certain way, as this will encourage more of an intellectual conversation than a possible war of opinions. Just as you want to express your beliefs, be courteous and let the person you are speaking to express his or her beliefs, even if you disagree.
If you disagree
It’s inevitable that disagreements will arise, but when they do, handle them with grace, dignity and respect. Say something like, “That’s an interesting way to look at it and you bring up some valid points; however, I feel that…” Never raise your voice, show anger, abruptly walk away or make it personal.
Either way
Whether you decide to respond or not, be tactful, polite, and remember that educated responses will help you either to cordially engage, or graciously decline whenever these inevitable conversations cross your path. For the Silo, Alex Smith.
Unless trust is restored, the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid may begin the “collapse” of U.S. law enforcement, according to police expert Michael Letts.
Over the past few years, the FBI has acted politically often enough that many Americans now struggle to trust it, Letts said. He runs In-Vest USA, a nonprofit that provides bulletproof vests to police departments.
Without explanations, acts such as the Mar-a-Lago raid create distrust between local and federal law enforcement, he said. They also create civilian distrust for law enforcement in general.
“Mar-a-Lago is just another nail in the coffin,” he said.
U.S. law enforcement runs on trust, according to Letts. Without trust, the system collapses into “Third-World status,” where police serve power instead of enforcing the law.
“Then, you have coup d’états, you have overthrows, riots. And then, whatever power happens to win at that particular day tries to solidify. The forces that it controls run out and eliminate everybody that’s not on their bandwagon,” he said.
Lack of Transparency in Politically Sensitive Case
The FBI made several decisions at Mar-a-Lago that could catastrophically damage trust in law enforcement, Letts said.
First, the raid itself shouldn’t have happened, he said.
Presidents often take many documents with them when they leave the White House. Often, staff accidentally pack at least a few secret documents by mistake. Most of the time, the federal government doesn’t punish this mistake, according to Letts.
Trump’s predecessor, former President Barack Obama, turned over 30 million documents to the National Archives.
“More often than not, they look at and realize [the document] no longer needs to be classified anymore,” he said.
But the FBI raided Trump’s home for the documents.
The FBI also refused to let Trump’s lawyer observe the search. Without someone else present, law enforcement could potentially plant fake evidence or steal a suspect’s property, Letts said. This has led many to now wonder whether the FBI demanded secrecy for alleged misconduct.
“They should have never provided fodder to the American people to have these kinds of questions,” he said.
Finally, FBI and DOJ leaders have failed to provide the public with a clear explanation as to why the raid had to happen.
In-Vest USA CEO Michael Letts. (Image courtesy of In-Vest USA)
Although the government released the warrant and receipt for property taken, these things didn’t provide enough of an answer, Letts said.
Since then, reports have been spreading about an internal FBI and Department of Homeland Security bulletin, leaked in part by CNN, NBC, and CBS, of an increase in bomb threats made online to law enforcement and officials following the Mar-a-Lago raid.
If the government truly wants to calm the situation, it needs to provide a full explanation, according to Letts.
“We need straight and direct answers,” he said. “We need congressional leadership. It needs to be a bipartisan effort.”
Trust: Cornerstone of the American System
The distrust from the FBI raid doesn’t only affect politics, Letts said. It also affects the inner workings of law enforcement.
Law enforcement agencies have to cooperate to do their work, he said. Federal and state police often join forces for investigations.
In these investigations, trust is crucial, according to Letts. If the FBI and local police don’t trust each other, they can’t cooperate.
Even law enforcement on drug dealing will fall apart if the FBI and police don’t trust each other, he said. If the FBI targets conservative politicians today, it might target anyone tomorrow.
“Is there something else behind the scenes? You’re willing to lie on FISA reports to courts. Are you willing to lie about this?” he asked.
The FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid will also cause the public to distrust state and local police, as most of the time, the public doesn’t see the difference between local police, state police, and federal law enforcement, according to Letts.
“If anybody’s wearing a badge—sheriff, deputy, city police—they all get mixed into the same boat,” he said. “And now they all get vilified.”
In the past few years, law enforcement’s trust foundations have been weakened from a number of events, Letts said. Some media outlets have villainized them for alleged racism, which the police deny, during deaths in custody, while some city councils have cut their budgets. Officers faced immense pressure from all angles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many police officers have resigned; few are recruited.
“They’re having to pull extra shifts. They’re at the highest stress rates. I mean, look at their divorce rates. They have some of the lowest morale we’ve ever seen in history,” he said of the police.
At some point, the “thin blue line” will snap, according to Letts.
“Who will they call when somebody is banging on their door to try to break in?” he asked.
We hope you enjoy our coverage! As you are visiting us today, we’d like to ask you one question — How much do you think news media outlets actually impact your life? …Probably more than you realize. For the Silo/Epoch Times, Jackson Elliott.
Featured image: Protesters gather in front of the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2022, to voice anger over FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times)
Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion that he bought at age 35 is for sale and featured this week at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.
Donald Trump was born into the real estate business in 1946 in New York City where his father, Fred Trump, was a developer. Donald got a jump-start in the business while he was still in college in the 1960s working menial jobs at his father’s lower middle-class apartment complex in Cincinnati. In 1971, he moved back to New York City where he took over his father’s company changing the name to The Trump Organization and earned a reputation as a fast-rising real estate tycoon on hotel, condominium and casino projects. In 1986, he made a deal with New York City Mayor Ed Koch to renovate Central Park’s Wollman Rink. The ice skating rink was going on its seventh year of renovations when Trump volunteered to finish and finance the restoration with his own money. He completed the job in just three months.
With his business success and wealth, Trump owns a roster of mansions. His main home is a posh three-level penthouse at Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue where he also runs his vast business operations. Also in the Gotham area, in 1996 Trump purchased a 60-room mansion in Bedford, New York with three pools and a bowling alley. He later bought Albemarle, a 23,000-square-foot mansion, vineyard and winery on 2,000 acres in Virginia for $12.7 million, a fraction of the original asking price of $100 million. Trump also keeps a large home on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
One of the interior sitting rooms in Trump’s first mansion.
When he isn’t running for president, firing someone or saying something controversial, Trump relaxes at his Mar-A-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida that he purchased in 1985 for $10 million. The 1920’s mansion with 62,000 square feet and over 100 rooms was originally built for Post Cereal heiress, Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump upgraded it to a private resort with initiation fees of $100,000, annual dues of $12,000 and nightly rates up to $3,000. Mar-A-Lago guests have included Bill Clinton, Regis Philbin, Tony Bennett and Barbara Walters.
Trump was only 35 in 1982 when he and wife, Ivana, purchased their first mansion, a 5.8 acre home on a peninsula in Greenwich, Connecticut for $4 million. Always a family-oriented business, Ivana was also remodeling the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan in the early 1980s and was able to incorporate many of the same materials in the decoration of their new home creating a residence dripping in gold leaf, elegant chandeliers and crown moldings. When they divorced in 1991 after 15 years of marriage, Ivana won the mansion in the property settlement. She sold the Greenwich home for $15 million in 1998, and the mansion’s new owners immediately began a renovation to tone it down to more livable neutrals and added tennis courts as well as a 4,000-square-foot addition which includes guest suites, a lap pool and a sauna. It is currently for sale at $54 million.
Click to view on I-tunes
Originally built in 1939, the 19,773-square-foot Georgian Colonial-style main house and a guest house have eight bedrooms, thirteen baths, a three-story rotunda foyer with double grand staircase, formal rooms overlooking views of the pool, grounds and Long Island Sound, home theater, a putting green, multiple terraces and patios, tennis courts and three fully-equipped staff apartments.
Awaiting a new Greenwich billionaire resident, Donald Trump’s former Connecticut mansion with major additions, six waterfront acres and private boat dock. The listing agent is Tamar Lurie of Coldwell Banker in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Real estate is never boring at TopTenRealEstateDeals. Check out today’s most entertaining, important and unusual real estate news stories of the week. News such as “Obama Vacation Home For Sale,” “Bacall’s Dakota Apartment Sells At Big Profit” and “New York’s First Penthouse.”
