Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

Yesterday, the president made one of the dumbest decisions in history.

Trump:

Elon Musk can stay as long as he wants but may depart in a few months.

Trump:

Iran wants direct talks.

Trump:

United Kingdom is happy about the tariff treatment.

Trump:

Market response to the tariffs was expected.

European Union is considering fining Elon Musk's X more than $1 billion.

Source: NYT

Trump says Israel has benefited from access to the U.S. market but has not opened its defense market to American companies.

Source: Channel 12

🇺🇸 The S&P 500 plunged nearly 5% today, wiping out $2.4 trillion in market value, the largest single-day loss since the COVID-19 pandemic's onset.

Trump is pushing for a TikTok sale to a non-Chinese entity by April 5, 2025.

Trump engages with potential buyers like Oracle and Blackstone, suggesting tariff relief for China if the deal goes through.

The proposed "TikTok America" deal could involve U.S. investors with ByteDance licensing the algorithm.

Amazon has also shown late interest.

Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund:

American companies are ready to replace European companies that left Russia.

Trump:

Too many people are being killed in Gaza. We have to do something about it.

Gaza has been under siege for many years, this is shameful.

Trump:

Elon Musk is a great guy, but he has so many companies he might have to leave to take care of them.

Trump:

Government efficiency efforts will continue after Musk's departure.

Trump with his new "Gold Card":

For $5 million this could be yours... it will be out in about less than 2 weeks probably. Pretty exciting, right?"

Putin's envoy Dmitriev:

We would like to work with Musk on a Mars mission.

General Timothy Haugh, NSA and Cyber Command head, was fired by Trump.

Reasons are unclear, but he was reportedly seen as slow on diversity program changes and associated with the Biden administration.

His deputy was also reassigned.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been removed from office after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment for declaring unconstitutional martial law.

A new election is set within 60 days.

He also faces a criminal trial for insurrection.

Trump on Le Pen ban:

The witch hunt against Marine Le Pen is another case of European leftists using lawfare to silence opponents—now even seeking prison.

It’s the same failed playbook used against me.

Le Pen fought hard for years, and just before victory, they hit her with a minor charge.

A disgrace for France and its people. FREE MARINE LE PEN!

Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs ignite $2.5tn rout on Wall Street

Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping new tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports caused a massive $2.5 trillion sell-off in U.S. equity markets, with the S&P 500 dropping 4.8% and the Nasdaq plunging 6%—its worst day since the COVID-19 crash.

Reactions included:

• The U.S. dollar fell sharply.
• Treasury bonds surged as investors fled to safety.
• Tech and consumer stocks, particularly Apple, were hammered (Apple lost $300bn in value).
• Oil prices fell 6.7%.
• Bank stocks dropped nearly 10% on recession fears.
• International markets (Japan, Australia) also fell

The IMF warned of global risks amid sluggish growth. US companies like Stellantis started furloughing staff due to supply chain issues. European leaders, including Macron, condemned the tariffs and hinted at retaliation, while the UK remained open to trade talks.

Source: FT

Chinese and US defense officials had their first known formal contact since Donald Trump returned to the White House, in a meeting that partially coincided with Beijing conducting large-scale military drills around Taiwan.

Military officials from the US and China held a maritime safety consultation in Shanghai on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a statement from the navy of the People’s Liberation Army.

Source: Bloomberg