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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A burgeoning trade war: “China and Canada moved swiftly on Tuesday to retaliate against newly imposed U.S. tariffs, announcing their own levies on U.S. goods that could further disrupt the United States’ trade with its top three trading partners. A 25% U.S. tariff on almost all goods imported from Canada and Mexico took effect Tuesday just after midnight, along with an additional 10% tariff on goods from China. The three countries together accounted for more than 40% of total U.S. imports last year and are also the top three U.S. export markets.”
* On a related note, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in comments directed at Americans, said, “We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either, but your government has chosen to do this to you.” He added, in reference to Donald Trump, “Even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”
* It’s probably best not to look at your investment portfolio right now: “The S&P 500 fell 1.7% Tuesday, officially erasing all the gains it had accrued since Donald Trump was declared winner of the 2024 presidential election in November. ... A total of $3.4 trillion in value has now been wiped out since Nov. 6, the day after the election was held, according to data from Bloomberg.”
* I could’ve sworn it was just last week when Vance emphasized the need for countries showing gratitude toward allies: “Vice President JD Vance has struck a nerve with key allies in the U.K. and France after arguing that a U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal is a more practical deterrent against Russian President Vladimir Putin than a peacekeeping force for postwar Ukraine that includes ‘some random country.’”
* Despite McMahon’s obvious lack of qualifications, she faced literally zero Republican opposition: “The Senate voted 51-45 on Monday to confirm Linda McMahon as Education secretary to lead a department that President Donald Trump has instructed her to dismantle and eventually close.”
* Doesn’t Hegseth have better things to do? “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued his efforts to revive the Confederate names of military bases, announcing on Monday that he is re-renaming Fort Moore, whose previous name honored the confederate general Henry Benning. The base, which is in Georgia, will again be called Fort Benning.”
* The White House has already claimed “victory” in this case, but the dispute isn’t over: “The Associated Press is asking a federal judge for a second time to immediately restore its access to presidential events, arguing that the Trump White House has doubled down on retaliating against the news outlet for its refusal to follow the president’s executive order that renamed the Gulf of Mexico.”
* File this away for future reference: “President Donald Trump’s pick as NATO ambassador reassured senators at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s commitment to the military alliance was ‘ironclad.’”
See you tomorrow.