Trump Watch

Blurb:

 

Authorities have identified the armed intruder shot and killed early Sunday after breaching the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to the Associated Press.

Martin had reportedly been listed as missing by his family just days before the incident. Investigators believe he traveled south and obtained the shotgun along the way. A box for the weapon was discovered inside his vehicle after the shooting.

According to the AP:

“The man, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, had a gas can and a shotgun, according to Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman. He had been reported missing by his family a few days ago, and investigators believe he headed south and picked up the shotgun along the way.”

Fox News broke the name of the shooter on air. 

Blurb:

Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Friday on Newsmax that President Donald Trump’s legal team made the “wrong argument” defending Trump’s tariff authority.

The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 Friday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize Trump to impose tariffs, holding that the statute’s phrase “regulate importation” does not include the distinct and extraordinary power to levy duties absent explicit congressional approval. Dershowitz appeared on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren.”

“I thought that the lawyers for Trump made the wrong argument to the Supreme Court, and I predicted they were going to lose based on their argument. Look, if you argue that it’s fundraising activity by Congress, of course you’re going to lose,” Dershowitz said. “This, the Article One of the Constitution, says that duties and taxes can be imposed only by Congress, and Congress can delegate that authority to the president.”

 

Blurb:

President Donald Trump announced Saturday an increase in the global tariff rate on imports from 10 percent to 15 percent. The change — which comes just a day after the administration was forced to restructure due to a controversial Supreme Court ruling — took effect immediately and applies to goods imported from most countries.

The announcement came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling on in the consolidated cases Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. The Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.

Blurb:

The EU’s top executive body has urged US President Donald Trump not to impose new tariffs on the bloc’s goods and to clarify his position following the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down most of his earlier measures.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had no authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Trump responded by signing an order imposing a 10% global tariff through a different law and later said he would raise it to 15%. He denounced the justices who ruled against him as “a disgrace to the nation.”

Blurb:

President Donald Trump is hosting the inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

The meeting will take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., before Trump heads to Rome, Georgia, for a speech on affordability.

The agenda for the meeting will include a discussion of how to move forward with peace in Gaza, as Israel and several Palestinian allies, including Egypt and Turkey, will be in attendance. Several of the U.S.’s typical allies, such as Canada, have not yet signed onto the organization.

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He told ABC that the USTR already had open investigations into Brazil and China, and expected to initiate investigations into areas such as industrial excess capacity, which would cover many countries in Asia, and unfair trading practices regarding rice, which is heavily subsidised by some countries.

Greer said he did not expect the ruling and subsequent change in tariffs to affect Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March.

“The purpose of this meeting with President Xi is not to fight about trade. It’s to maintain stability, make sure that the Chinese are holding up their end of our deal and buying American agricultural products and Boeings and other things,” Greer said. “I don’t see this really affecting that meeting.”

Blurb:

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that Japan will finance the production of synthetic diamonds and two energy projects worth about $36 billion as the initial tranche of investments under a deal reached last year following months of tariff negotiations.

Trump’s announcement that the three projects had been selected, as part of a $550 billion package that Japan committed to in exchange for his administration reducing tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods, was confirmed hours later by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

“These projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “America is building again. America is producing again. And America is WINNING again.”

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The Vatican will not join President Donald Trump’s newly formed Board of Peace, its top diplomatic official said Tuesday, signaling reluctance from the Holy See to take part in the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” the Vatican’s official news outlet reported.

Blurb:

The Vatican has rejected an invitation to participate in President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” which was recently formed to rebuild war-ravaged Gaza.

The Holy See’s top diplomatic official confirmed the rejection on Tuesday.

The refusal to join the international effort signals hesitation from the Catholic Church’s leadership toward the post-war initiative.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See “will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” according to the Vatican’s official news outlet.

Blurb:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged $5 billion toward rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza and will commit thousands of personnel to international stabilization and police forces for the territory.

The pledges will be formally announced when board members gather in Washington on Thursday for their first meeting, he said.

“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,” Trump said in a social media posting announcing the pledges.

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Despite his position as a Hollywood elite, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel likes to think of himself as a man of the people who cares for the little guy, but on his Tuesday show, Kimmel made the strange claim that illegal immigrants are “raising your children.”

While talking about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s congressional testimony where he was questioned about his appearance in the Epstein files, Kimmel sarcastically declared, “But this was encouraging. Congressman Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, is speaking out and loudly against Epstein’s co-conspirators.”

Blurb:

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump last year, will add $4.7 trillion to deficits through 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The numbers were released Wednesday as part of the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper’s annual budget and economic update, which includes projections for the debt, spending, inflation, and GDP.

Blurb:

The House of Representatives on Monday passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, making changes to federal housing regulations, which proponents say could drive down the cost of homes.

The bill, sponsored by Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., passed by a 390-9 margin. Eight Republicans and one Democrat voted against it, while 33 members did not vote.

The bill advanced out of the committee on a bipartisan basis in December 2025 and has the backing of ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

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The Department of Homeland Security lashed out at an “absurd” report claiming that a majority of the illegal aliens being deported by the administration were nonviolent cases.

The CBS News report cites an internal DHS document it obtained that showed only 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested in the first year of the Trump administration had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses.

‘We will stop at nothing to remove these public safety threats and Make America Safe Again.’

 

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More winning from our historic and magnificent POTUS!

The ending of Russian oil imports would be particularly significant; yes, even huge. Trump on his phone meeting with India Prime Minister Modi: We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18% (Truth)

India and China reportedly began edging away from Russian energy after President Trump imposed a 25% punitive tariff on countries doing business with Moscow — a move that signaled consequences.Trump has been pressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Russian oil since last summer, and two weeks ago he raised the stakes dramatically, threatening tariffs as high as 500%.

Modi rushed to X to celebrate the new trade agreement at an 18% reciprocal tariff rate.

Blurb:

Estonia’s President Alar Karis told Euronews he remains confident that the United States will honour Article 5 of NATO’s common defence despite a turbulent phase for the transatlantic relationship under President Donald Trump.

Since his return to the White House last year, the US President has rattled the fundamentals of the bilateral relationship between the two blocs, imposing tariffs on the European Union and referring to its leadership as “weak” and “decaying.”

Still, President Karis said Washington would come to the assistance of Europe if there was an attack on an allied country. Article 5 is the bedrock of NATO and obliges allies to assist each other on the basis that “an attack on one is an attack on all.”

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Border czar Tom Homan has announced that the Trump administration will immediately reduce the number of federal immigration agents in Minnesota by roughly 26%, citing “unprecedented cooperation” from local officials.

Homan held a press conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning to provide an update on Operation Metro Surge, which has been met with unrest from some community members, leading to numerous anti-immigration enforcement protests.

Blurb:

Nearly two-thirds of likely 2026 midterm election voters support deporting illegal aliens from the United States, a new poll released Monday shows.

In its latest survey of 1,004 likely 2026 voters, the political polling firm Cygnal found that respondents support removing illegal aliens from America and sending them back to their country of origin by a nearly 2:1 margin (61 to 34 percent). The poll also found strong support for ICE enforcement of federal immigration laws and agreement that illegally entering the United States is a violation of such laws.

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A rogue federal judge has issued an order blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had ordered the termination of TPS for Haitians, and it was supposed to go into effect on Tuesday.

This would have forced hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants living in the United States to either leave or get deported.

However, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, who was appointed by Biden, just put an indefinite pause on that order.

Blurb:

Most Americans would assume that federal judges — ostensibly some of the most important arbiters in the U.S. judiciary system — would have a pretty good grasp of the basic facts.

Things like who, what, when, where, and why are all rather important topics when presiding over any tenuous legal matter.

Alas, every once in a while, judges can apparently get those very important factoids wrong, too.

And it’s raising a lot of questions.

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A growing number of Democrat rogue judges are waging open war on the rule of law, substituting ideology for statute and personal politics for public safety. By blocking deportations, freeing violent offenders, and nullifying duly enacted laws, these judges are not “checking power,” they are seizing it, overriding the will of voters and lawmakers alike. The result is predictable: communities put at risk, law enforcement undermined, and a justice system that rewards contempt for the law while punishing those tasked with enforcing it. This is not judicial independence; it is judicial sabotage—an assault on law and order and on the American way of life itself, which depends on equal application of the law, not rule by robe.