The Patriot Post® · Trump Trade Triumph

President Donald Trump has delivered on another major campaign promise. He successfully renegotiated the Clinton-era NAFTA agreement.

Trump repeatedly said he wanted a better deal for America, and everyone repeatedly said it couldn’t be done. But Trump negotiated one deal with Mexico and conducted another set of negotiations with Canada, which was dragging its feet over a variety of issues.

Just a few weeks ago, Reuters reported that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “would not compromise on key demands at high-level talks.” At the United Nations General Assembly last week, President Trump was asked about reports that he refused to speak with Trudeau. Trump said:

“His tariffs are too high, and he doesn’t seem to want to move, and I’ve told him forget about it, and frankly, we’re thinking about just taxing cars coming in from Canada… We’re very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada.”

Well, it seems the president got the prime minister’s attention. Canada agreed to some last-minute concessions on dairy imports and auto exports.

As a result, NAFTA is no more. Say hello to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. News of the agreement caused the stock market to jump more than 200 points at the opening yesterday.

This is indicative of who Trump is and how he represents the United States. He put America and our workers first. All of Washington, DC, was against him, yet Trump knew we could get a better deal and we did.

But wait… There’s more!

Lost in the Kavanaugh kerfuffle last week, President Trump signed a new trade agreement with South Korea. In addition, China just announced that it is slashing tariffs on more than 1,500 products, responding to pressure from the Trump administration to open its economy to more American goods.

Investigations Galore

Thanks to retiring Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Senate Democrats are getting the additional FBI investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh that they demanded. Do you think they are satisfied? Of course not. As Byron York notes, Democrats are moving the goal posts yet again.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who sat on Dr. Ford’s allegations for months, is now demanding full transparency from the White House and wants to know everything the FBI is doing.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is demanding that the FBI investigate Kavanaugh for perjury.

Sen. Mazie Hirono says the investigation will be “a farce” if it is limited in any way.

Democrats have turned the confirmation process into a farce! Unfortunately, they have been enabled by a trio of weak-kneed Republicans.

Out of 51 Republican senators, there are three — Collins, Flake, and Murkowski — who are unreliable on good days. That means Mitch McConnell is operating with just 48 reliable votes on any given issue.

On the other side, there isn’t one Democrat who would actually cross Chuck Schumer unless their vote didn’t matter.

So if we somehow manage to keep Collins, Flake, and Murkowski on our side, I suspect Kavanaugh will pick up two or three Democrats because he’s guaranteed to be confirmed and their votes won’t matter. But those Democrats will get to bask in the glow of bipartisanship and may see their reelection chances boosted as a result.

This dynamic is very telling. Republicans control the White House. They control the House of Representatives. But they fundamentally do not control the Senate. That’s why 10 Democrats have been able to successfully stall this nomination for months.

Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Grassley is asking the FBI to investigate one of Judge Kavanaugh’s accusers for perjury.

Sen. Bill Cassidy is calling on the FBI to investigate collusion between Senate Democrats and left-wing political operatives.

Sen. Lindsey Graham is demanding an investigation to find out who in Sen. Feinstein’s office leaked Dr. Ford’s letter and why her attorneys did not tell Ford that Senate investigators were willing to fly to California to interview her.

A Question of Credibility

Last week, I wrote that Dr. Ford was a sympathetic witness. Left-wing senators and commentators have described her as a “credible witness,” and they have denounced anyone who dared to question her allegations.

We will see what the FBI uncovers in the days ahead. But as of now, I believe there are just too many gaps and inconsistencies in Dr. Ford’s story to say she is credible.

If you are interested in learning more, I encourage you to read the full memo released by Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, who questioned Dr. Ford during last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

It takes Mitchell five pages to outline all of the inconsistencies in Ford’s testimony. This experienced sex-crimes prosecutor does not find Ford’s accusations credible because Ford constantly changed her story, can’t remember significant details (the date, the precise location of the alleged assault, how she got there or how she got home), but Ford does remember minor details, such as her claim that she had only one beer at the party.

Meanwhile, I can’t help but think about what the Kavanaugh family has gone through. Check out this picture. The women sitting behind Judge Kavanaugh are his mother, a close family friend, and his wife, Ashley.

Will anyone be held accountable for the pain and anguish these women (not to mention Judge Kavanaugh’s daughters) have experienced over the last several weeks?